Vatican: Bergoglio (by his own will) to be buried at Santa Maria Maggiore, along with five other Pontiffs
The announcement in 2023: he has been particularly attached to the Basilica since before the election
3' min read
Key points
- In St. Peter's, the burials since 1914
- From the end of the Council of Trent until today, there have been 42 popes.
- Some burials outside St. Peter's for historical reasons (such as Pius IX)
- Some rest in San Giovanni in Laterano, others in San Lorenzo
- A Pontiff in the Basilica of the Twelve Holy Apostles, another in Santa Maria Sopra Minerva
3' min read
He made the announcement at the end of 2023: Pope Francis will be buried in the Basilica of St. Mary Major and not under St. Peter's Basilica, where many of his predecessors rest, 91 in all - including Benedict XVI and John Paul II - but not all. An unsurprising announcement given the close bond Bergoglio has with the basilica even before he was elected and where the Salus Populi Romani is venerated, the Byzantine icon depicting the Madonna and Child to which the (believing) people of the city of Rome are very attached.
In St Peter's the burials since 1914
Since 1914 all popes have been buried in the Vatican grottoes (although some of them - after canonisation - were later moved inside the Vatican Basilica). At Santa Maria Maggiore St Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, the religious order from which Bergoglio comes, celebrated his first mass at Christmas 1538. Not only that: he had said that in case he decided for a renunciation he would not live in the Vatican (like Benedict) nor would he return to Argentina: he would become bishop again and not pope emeritus and would go to live in the premises adjacent to the Basilica. Incidentally, Francis went to the same church the morning after the night of the Conclave, 14 March 2013, to dedicate his pontificate to Mary. He returned there before and after each trip abroad.
From the end of the Council of Trent to the present there have been 42 popes
.Bergoglio is the first pontiff in more than 120 years to choose to be buried outside St Peter's: the last was Leo XIII, buried in St John Lateran, the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, in 1903. The tradition of burying popes in St Peter's Basilica dates back to the 4th century. However, over the centuries, some pontiffs have chosen to be buried elsewhere for various reasons: personal choices, religious, sentimental or political reasons. From the end of the Council of Trent - in 1563 - to the present day there have been 42 popes, from Pius IV who completed the Council of Trent to Francis, the reigning pontiff. Of these, 14 are not buried in the Vatican.
Some burials outside St Peter's for historical reasons (such as Pius IX)
.In some circumstances, however, burial outside the Vatican was imposed for historical or political reasons. For example, Pope Gregory XII, who died in 1415, was buried in the cathedral of San Flaviano in Recanati, his hometown. Pope Pius IX, on the other hand, who died in 1878, was buried in the Basilica of San Lorenzo fuori le Mura in Rome, because he was particularly attached to that place. Also outside St. Peter's are Pius IX (1878, San Lorenzo fuori le Mura), Urban V (1370, Abbey of San Vittore, Marseille), Clement VII (1534, Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome), Damasus II (1048, San Lorenzo fuori le Mura), Hilary (468, San Lorenzo fuori le Mura), Sixtus III (440, San Lorenzo fuori le Mura), Zosimus (418, San Lorenzo fuori le Mura).
Some rest in San Giovanni in Laterano, others in San Lorenzo
.In the last two centuries, this is the situation of the burials, in chronological order: St Pius X, St John XXIII and St John Paul II in St Peter's. Leo XIII (1878-1903), buried in the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the same Basilica that houses the remains of 22 popes. Leo XIII's predecessor, Blessed Pius IX (1846-1878), is also buried outside the Vatican: his tomb is in the Basilica of San Lorenzo outside the walls.
