Pope decides not to be buried in the Vatican

RELIGIONS NEWS AGENCY (REDNA)- Pope Francis, aged 87,  says he will be laid to rest in the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, where he goes to pray before and after trips overseas.

Popes are usually buried beneath St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City but Pope Francis told a Mexican journalist at the Vatican, Valentina Alazraki, that he had met the master of ceremonies in order to simplify papal funerals, adding: “I’ll launch a new ritual.”

He has made more than 100 visits to the fifth-century basilica, where he prays in front of a venerated image of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus.

The pope’s health has declined in recent years, forcing him to use a wheelchair and feeding speculation about him stepping aside, as did his predecessor Benedict XVI.

Francis had a colon operation in 2021 and was hospitalised in early April with bronchitis. The pope, who marked the 10th anniversary of his papacy in March, said in the interview that despite his health problems, he had “no thought of resigning”.