Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Pope Francis reads a prayer he wrote to Mary, asking her to intercede to bring an end to war, after reciting the rosary for peace in Rome's Basilica of St. Mary Major Oct. 6, 2024. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In his brief final testament, Pope Francis asked to be buried at Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major and said he had offered his suffering for peace in the world.

“I offered the suffering present in the latter part of my life to the Lord for world peace and brotherhood among peoples,” he wrote in the document dated June 29, 2022, and published by the Vatican April 21, hours after he had died.

“Feeling that the sunset of my earthly life is approaching and with lively hope in eternal life, I wish to express my testamentary will only as to the place of my burial,” he wrote.

The document made no mention of the disposition of any possessions or of his personal papers.

As he had said publicly on several occasions, Pope Francis asked to be buried at St. Mary Major because he had entrusted his “priestly and episcopal life and ministry” to Mary.

“I wish my last earthly journey to end at this very ancient shrine Marian where I would go to pray at the beginning and end of each apostolic journey to confidently entrust my intentions to the Immaculate Mother and to thank her for the docile and maternal care,” he wrote.

Pope Francis then specified that “my tomb be prepared in the niche in the side aisle between the Pauline Chapel -- the Chapel of the Salus Populi Romani -- and the Sforza Chapel.”

“The tomb should be in the earth; simple, without special decoration and with the only inscription: Franciscus,” he wrote.

Pope Francis said a benefactor already had covered the expenses for his burial and that he already had given specific instructions to Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, the coadjutor archpriest of the basilica.

“May the Lord give a well-deserved reward to those who have loved me and will continue to pray for me,” he wrote.

Read more: 

The latest from america

President Donald Trump, center, surrounded by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., and Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., speaks to reporters before a House Republican conference meeting, Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
“These proposed changes threaten access to care for millions of Americans, particularly those in underserved areas, where our member systems work every day to provide quality, compassionate care.”
Kevin ClarkeMay 20, 2025
The Archdiocese of Chicago has scheduled a Mass and a special program to celebrate the election and inauguration of Pope Leo XIV, a native son of the Windy City.
The genre of the crime-solving priest or religious might be a niche one, but it's been around on the page and the screen for more than a century.
James T. KeaneMay 20, 2025
“I would suspect that people are very proud that Chicago produced a pope, and it testifies to the fact that there’s a lot of good here in the city that recommends itself to the church.”
Delaney CoyneMay 20, 2025