Vatican City: Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday at the age of 88 at his residence in the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta will be buried on Saturday at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome, a site of deep personal significance for the pontiff. The basilica, one of the four major papal basilicas, has been a central Marian shrine for over sixteen centuries. Pope Francis often prayed here, especially after returning from his numerous apostolic visits abroad.

This will be the first papal burial at the Basilica since the 17th century, when Pope Clement IX was interred there. The basilica is also the final resting place of seven other popes, saints including Matthew and Jerome, and Renaissance master Gian Lorenzo Bernini and his family. True to the spirit of simplicity that defined his life and ministry, Pope Francis had requested a modest burial. According to his last testament, his tomb will be in the ground, devoid of elaborate decoration, bearing only a single inscription. The Vatican also confirmed that the body of Pope Francis may be transferred temporarily to St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday, April 23, pending approval from the College of Cardinals, to allow the faithful to pay their final respects.

The Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, has convened General Congregations starting Tuesday to prepare for the upcoming Conclave, expected to take place between May 5 to May 10. The funeral will be attended by numerous world leaders, with Italy and India already declaring three days of state mourning. Just hours before his death, the ailing pontiff had met with US Vice President J.D. Vance after participating in Easter services despite his visibly weakened state. Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Italian immigrant parents, Francis was the first Jesuit and first Latin American pope.

His election in 2013 following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI marked a turning point in the Church. Rejecting the papal apartments, Francis chose to live in the modest guesthouse of Santa Marta and led with a pastoral heart and reformist vision. His passing has sent waves of sorrow across the global Christian community, which remembers him as a shepherd of the people and a pope of the peripheries, always reaching out, always listening, and always walking humbly with his God. 

(IANS)