By Hannah Brockhaus
Vatican City, Apr 26, 2025 / 09:30 am
Pope Francis was buried Saturday in the Basilica of St. Mary Major after his coffin crossed the center of Rome, marking the pontiff’s final goodbye to the Eternal City.
After the celebration of the funeral Mass in St. Peter’s Square, the pope’s coffin left the Vatican via the Perugino Gate at 12:30 p.m. local time. The simple wooden coffin was transported in a popemobile-style pickup truck and greeted to applause and cheers of “Goodbye, Pope Francis,” and “Good journey, Francis” from a small crowd gathered just outside the Vatican.
The white car carrying the papal coffin winded slowly through Rome, the city of which Pope Francis was bishop, past the white Monument to Victory Emmanuel II, the Roman Forum, and the Colosseum, to arrive at Via Merulana, a wide street leading to the main square of the Basilica of St. Mary Major.
The Vatican and local authorities estimate 150,000 people lined Rome’s streets to wave goodbye to Pope Francis’ coffin. Around 400,000 people attended the funeral Mass.
As the bells of the basilica tolled, a group of poor from Rome were on the steps of the basilica to meet the papal funeral procession and to pay their final respects to the pope who loved them so much.
A small procession of cardinals, bishops, priests, and other Vatican officials led the way into the Marian basilica and to the side chapel housing Francis’ favorite icon of Mary, “Salus Populi Romani,” where four young children laid baskets of white roses before the historic image.
As the world mourns the passing of Pope Francis, his final resting place in the Basilica of St. Mary Major has been prepared with reverence and care. The basilica, one of the four papal basilicas in Rome, holds the tombs of seven other popes dating back to the fifth century.
Earlier this week, a white, Italian marble slab was laid in the ground, bearing the Latin name “Franciscus” in honor of the beloved pontiff. Above the tomb hangs Pope Francis’ distinctive silver pectoral cross, depicting the Good Shepherd carrying a lost sheep.
The tomb is situated in a niche on the left-side aisle of the basilica, nestled between the Pauline Chapel, home to the revered “Salus Populi Romani” icon, and the Sforza Chapel. Nearby stands an altar dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi, a fitting tribute to the pope’s namesake.
Throughout his pontificate, Pope Francis made over 100 visits to the Basilica of St. Mary Major, often praying before the “Salus Populi Romani” icon before and after his international travels.
The private burial ceremony was a solemn affair, with prayers of intercession asking for mercy and forgiveness for Pope Francis. The Our Father was chanted, and other prayers were recited in Latin as part of the burial rite.
