In a new interview with Mexican journalist Valentina Alazraki released Dec. 8, Pope Francis explained that he has made arrangements to be buried in Santa Maria Maggiore when he eventually dies.
Though many of the popes, especially recent ones, are buried in the grotto beneath St. Peter’s Basilica, it is not an ironclad rule. Leo XIII was the last to choose another site, being interred in St. John Lateran in 1903. Other extant papal resting places are located not only around Rome but in cities throughout Italy, and some even in other European countries.
None that we know of are in Africa or the Middle East, though it’s not out of the question, as many of the early ones are of course lost to history. Obviously, none are in the Americas, as the current pope is the first from here. Six are already buried in Santa Maria Maggiore, the last being Clement IX in 1669. The relics of the biblical scholar Saint Jerome, originally a priest of the city, are also interred there.
Pope Francis has an obvious and longstanding devotion to Mary, particularly under the title of the Salus Populi Romani, the Protectress and Health of the Roman People. This image, which some claim was painted by Saint Luke, is housed in St. Maria Maggiore
The church itself, often referred to as the Basilica Liberiana because of its founding by Pope Liberio (352-366 AD), is often claimed to be the oldest shrine venerating Mary in the Western Church. Pope Francis has visited the significant landmark more than 100 times since becoming pope, usually before and after any international trip. He has told people close to him that in the years preceding his election, it was always one of his favorite places to visit in Rome (as it has long been for me as well).
The pope’s Jesuit formation also likely played a role in his selection of a final resting place, as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of his religious order, famously celebrated his first Mass at Santa Maria Maggiore on Christmas Day in 1538.
Sitting atop the Esquiline Hill, the church was supposedly laid out by Mary in a vision where she mapped its eventual architectural footprint with a miraculous blizzard – or perhaps hailstorm – in August. Thus, it is alternatively called Our Lady of the Snows (Madonna della Neve). As it became one of the centers of Marian devotion, particularly after the Council of Ephesus’ defense of Mary as the Mother of God (theotokos/Mater Dei), the relics of the crib from Bethlehem were eventually brought to be housed there, in a prominent location near the high altar.
The gold decorating the ceiling was reported to have been taken from the New World and brought to Rome on some of the earliest ships in the age of European exploration and conquest.
A modern stained glass window created by János Hajnal depicts Christ’s mother as the “Exalted Daughter of Zion” (Excelsa Filia Sion), incorporating Jewish elements of Mary’s background like the tablets of the Ten Commandments and the Menorah into its composition.
The church’s bell tower is the tallest in Rome. There is a local legend that goes something like the following: Someone (a blind shepherdess, a confused pilgrim, a wealthy heiress) was lost when the surroundings were much more rural than today. In desperate fear of having to spend the night outdoors and unprotected, she prayed to the Virgin and suddenly heard the bells of Santa Maria, which guided her back to safety. In her honor, “La Sperduta” (“The Lost One”) used to ring every night at 2 a.m., which has in contemporary times been converted to a less disturbing 9 p.m.
Mosaics from the Hebrew scriptures adorn the side panels dating to the 5th century. The central one covering the massive apse, perhaps the most beautiful in Rome, is a 13th century depiction of the Coronation of the Virgin. There Christ welcomes his mother into Paradise, naming her the Queen of Heaven.
Though the pilgrim foot traffic to the basilica is steady, and will likely someday increase as travelers will undoubtedly come to mark Francis’ life and hopefully still-distant passing, there is a dignified and palpable sense of calm and peace in the hushed oasis in one of the busiest sections of the city. That combination of tranquil holiness in close proximity to the buzz of “real life” makes it an exceptionally fitting place to one day memorialize this remarkable pontificate.
An alumnus of Camden Catholic High School, Cherry Hill, Michael M. Canaris, Ph.D., teaches at Loyola University, Chicago.
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