But Francis will be the first pontiff in more than a century to be buried outside the Vatican, as he requested a “simple” tomb a couple of miles away in the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore ...

Pope Francis has been laid to rest at the Santa Maria Maggiore basilica. The late pontiff’s entombment was a private event which allowed those close to him to pay their last respects.

The Santa Maria Maggiore basilica, which Pope Francis chose as his final resting place, is a fifth-century church located in the centre of Rome that already holds the tombs of seven popes.

Every time Pope Francis came back to Rome after a trip abroad, he made sure to pay a visit to the church of Santa Maria Maggiore. It was a fitting choice: Francis was particularly devoted to the ...