A view inside the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, Italy, where Pope Francis decided he would be buried in a "simple" tomb. Seven other popes are also buried there.

The Santa Maria Maggiore basilica, which Pope Francis chose as his final resting place, is a fifth-century church located in the centre of Rome that already holds the tombs of seven popes. The ...

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Pope Francis expresses his desire to be buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in 2023. As reported by Al Jazeera on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, the basilica is located in the ...

Pope Francis’s funeral procession will depart from St. Peter’s Basilica, the epicenter of Catholicism, and head toward the Basilica of St. Mary Major, one of Rome’s most important Marian ...

ROME, Italy - The Santa Maria Maggiore basilica, which Pope Francis chose as his final resting place, is a fifth-century church located in the center of Rome that already holds the tombs of seven ...

10. The Santa Maria Maggiore also holds pieces of wood believed to have been from Jesus’s crib. The basilica’s website says recent studies have dated the wood from the period of Jesus’s birth.

New surprise blitz by Pope Francis . The Pope arrived at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore shortly before 3 pm to pray to the Salus Populi Romani, which is so dear to him.

The Santa Maria Maggiore basilica, which Pope Francis chose as his final resting place, is a fifth-century church located in the center of Rome that already holds the tombs of seven popes.