The Story Behind Pope Francis' Burial Wish at St. Mary Major Basilica

ROME, 26 April 2025 — Breaking a tradition followed by his recent predecessors, Pope Francis requested to be laid to rest at the Basilica of St. Mary Major instead of the Vatican Grottoes. His choice reflects a deeply personal devotion to the Virgin Mary and a lifetime of prayer at one of Rome’s most revered churches.

Divine Intervention

Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, in an interview with National Public Radio (NPR), explained that this decision was the result of "divine intervention."

Pope Francis shared with Makrickas, the coadjutor archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major, that the Virgin Mary had appeared to him and requested that he be laid to rest in her church.

"The intervention was, I would say, divine from Mary directly," Makrickas said. Francis recounted the story during a meeting at his residence, where he asked Makrickas to make the necessary arrangements for his tomb at the basilica. "He told me: 'I am so happy that Mary didn't forget me.'"

A Sacred Connection

Throughout his papacy, Pope Francis visited the Basilica of St. Mary Major—renowned for its cipollino marble colonnades and intricate statues—126 times. He went there primarily to pray before the Salus Populi Romani, a painting on cedar wood depicting the Virgin Mary holding the infant Jesus. This revered icon was brought to Rome in the fifth century after Mary was declared the Mother of God at the Council of Ephesus in 431. Tradition holds that it was painted by St. Luke the Evangelist.

The icon became a spiritual anchor for Francis throughout his years as pope. He visited it on his first morning as pope in 2013, and continued to pray there before and after every trip out of Rome. It was the first place he visited after being discharged from Gemelli hospital following treatment for double pneumonia, and he returned there again just days before his death on Easter Monday.

In a poignant tribute to his connection with the icon, the Marian image was placed beside his coffin at the funeral, symbolically uniting his final journey with his lifelong devotion.

A History of Protection

The Salus Populi Romani has long been regarded as a protector of Rome. Tradition says that during a plague in 590, Pope Gregory the Great led a procession carrying the icon through the city’s streets, asking for deliverance.

During the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Pope Francis once again turned to the Salus Populi Romani for help. He had the icon brought to St. Peter’s Basilica, where he prayed in the rain before an almost empty St. Peter’s Square. "We know that you can take care of us," Francis prayed, appealing for the Virgin Mary's intercession for humanity.

Previous Papal Burials

While burial at St. Mary Major is rare for popes today, it was once more common. Seven popes are buried at the basilica, mostly during the time when St. Peter’s Basilica was still under construction: Pope Honorius III (1150–1227), Pope Nicholas IV (1227–1292), St. Pius V (1504–1572), Pope Sixtus V (1521–1590), Pope Clement VIII (1536–1605), Pope Paul V (1550–1621), Pope Clement IX (1600–1669)

A Mother's Love Till the End

In choosing to rest at St. Mary Major, Pope Francis entrusted his final repose to the maternal love of the Virgin Mary—the same love he sought at every key moment of his life and pontificate. His story is a reminder that even in the final passage from this life to the next, the tender embrace of a mother awaits, guiding, protecting, and welcoming her children home.

Credit: National Public Radio (NPR)