Monday, April 21, 2025

"... now and at the hour of our death"

It is no great surprise that Pope Francis will be buried in the Pauline Chapel of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, not in the Vatican. This is where the icon of Our Lady, Salus Populi Romani is kept for veneration.

After each journey from Rome, upon his return, Pope Francis would bring flowers, venerate, and pray before the image of Our Lady, Salus Populi Romani. He did the same on Marian feasts.

Roman Catholics are the populi Romani.



From the Holy Father's final testament:
Throughout my life, and during my ministry as a priest and bishop, I have always entrusted myself to the Mother of Our Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary. For this reason, I ask that my mortal remains rest - awaiting the day of the Resurrection - in the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major.

I wish my final earthly journey to end precisely in this ancient Marian sanctuary, where I would always stop to pray at the beginning and end of every Apostolic Journey, confidently entrusting my intentions to the Immaculate Mother, and giving thanks for her gentle and maternal care.

I ask that my tomb be prepared in the burial niche in the side aisle between the Pauline Chapel (Chapel of the Salus Populi Romani) and the Sforza Chapel of the Basilica, as shown in the attached plan.

The tomb should be in the ground; simple, without particular ornamentation, bearing only the inscription: Franciscus
In modern times, only Pope Leo XIII, who served as Roman Pontiff from 1878-1903, is not buried in the Vatican. Incidentally, Leo XIII (born in 1810) is likely the earliest born person to be captured in a motion picture. Leo XIII is buried in Saint John Lateran, the Pope's Cathedral as Bishop of Rome.

Among Pope Leo's achievements over his long ponificate was his encyclical Rerum Novarum ("On Capital and Labor"), promulgated in 1891. This encyclical launched the Catholic Church's modern social teaching. Notable among Pope Francis's contributions to the Church's social teaching are- Evangelii Gaudium, which he called the charter for his pontificate, Laudato Si' and its sequel Laudate Deum, along with Fratelli Tutti.

Pope Francis' tomb will mark quite a contrast with Pope Leo's:

Tomb of Pope Leo XIII in Saint John Lateran, Rome

No comments:

Post a Comment

From phileo to agape

Gospel: John 21:1-19 Ecclesiologically, Henri de Lubac schematized the first two Christian millenia in the following way: the first mille...