Not St Peter's Basilica: Why Pope Francis' funeral will be a break from tradition

Archbishop Jorge Ignacio Garcia Cuerva gives mass at Buenos Aires Cathedral on April 21, 2025, following the death of Pope Francis in the Vatican. Pope Francis died on April 21, 2025 aged 88, a day after making a much hoped-for appearance at Saint Peter's Square on Easter Sunday, the Vatican said in a statement. (AFP)

Pope Francis, 88, died at his residence on Easter Monday, the Vatican announced on April 21, 2025. But unlike his predecessors, the funeral of Pope Francis will be a clear departure from the tradition. To begin with, Pope Francis will not be buried underneath St Peter’s Basilica. This is because back in 2022, he had expressed his desire to be buried at Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore located in Rome.

Unlike Pope Francis, most of the pontiffs have been buried at the Vatican Grottoes underneath St Peter’s Basilica. The new updates by the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis says that the Pope's coffin will be placed for public viewing for nearly six days.

Led by the Dean of the College of Cardinals, the funeral of the Pope will be an elaborate arrangement. Last year, the Vatican had published the new set of rites approved by the Pope. In a clear departure from the centuries of rituals, the pontiff will be buried in a zinc-lined single wooden coffin. This will be a break from the usual tradition of interlocking caskets that were made of lead, cypress and oak.

The final resting place of Pope Francis, basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, is dedicated to Mother Mary. This will be first time in a century that the pontiff will be buried outside the holy city of Vatican.