The Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major: The Final Resting Place of Pope Francis I

Prior to his death, Pope Francis I chose the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major for his final resting place.  Along with St. Peter’s Basilica, St. Mary Major is one of the most important resting places for departed Supreme Pontiffs.

St. Mary Major is one of the oldest and most important churches dedicated to the Blessed Mother.  It is certainly the oldest Marian Shrine in the West and one of the oldest Marian shrines in the world.  Along with St. Peter’s Basilica, the Basilica of St. John Lateran and the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, the Basilica of St. Mary Major (Santa Maria Maggiore in Italian) is one of the four Pilgrimage Basilicas of Rome and as such has an important role in Jubilee Year Pilgrimages.

St. Mary Major is believed to have been built following an appearance of Mary to Pope Liberius in 352 A.D.  The exact location of the Basilica on Esquiline Hill was specified by Mary through a miraculous snowfall. This is known as the Miracle of the Snows.  

Construction began in 420 and was completed in 440.  Subsequent renovations enlarged and restored the Basilica.  The Basilica is somewhat square-shaped with a 75-meter high bell tower near the entrance, two domes, three naves and several side chapels.  Inside are rows of 40 columns which separate the naves.  A reliquary holds fragments of the manger from Bethlehem.  

The Basilica holds the remains of the Apostle Saint Matthew and the great Church theologian Saint Jerome.  

The Basilica is home to some great treasures of Catholic art.   Most important of these is the Salus Populi Romani, an image of Our Blessed Mother believed to have been painted by St. Luke.  

The first Pope buried in St. Mary Major was Pope Honorius III who lived from 1150 to 1227 and served as Pope from 1216 to 1227.  Pope Honorius III is noteworthy for having approved St. Francis of Assisi’s “Second Rule” for his ministry.

The first Franciscan to serve as Pope was Pope Nicholas IV who lived from 1227 to 1292 and was elected Pope in 1288.  He is also buried in St. Mary Major.

Pope St. Pius V is the only Pope Saint to be buried in St. Mary Major.  Born in poverty in 1504, he entered the Dominican Order and was elected Pope in 1566 and served until his death in 1572.   Pope St. Pius V was a close friend of St. Charles Borromeo.  The two of them were instrumental in effecting the Church’s response to Protestantism and in implementing the reforms of the Council of Trent.  When the navies of the Muslim Ottomans threatened Western Europe in 1571, Pope St. Pius V implored the intercession of Our Blessed Mother and rallied the navies of Christendom to oppose the Ottomans.  As a result, the Christians decisively defeated the Ottomans at the Battle of Lepanto and freed over 15,000 slaves in the process.  In gratitude, Pope St. Pius V established the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary on October 7th.

Another Pope buried in St. Mary Major is Pope Sixtus V.  He lived from 1521 to 1590 and served as Pope from 1585 to 1590.  He was a promoter of major public works projects in Rome and a reformer of the Church’s finances.

Pope Clement VIII and Pope Paul V are both buried in the same chapel of St. Mary Major.  Pope Clement VIII lived from 1521 to 1590 and served as Pope from 1592 to 1605.  He was also a reformer.  His successor Pope Paul V lived from 1550 to 1621 and served as Pope from 1605 to 1621.  He canonized St. Charles Borromeo and oversaw the completion of St. Peter’s Basilica.  

Pope Clement IX lived from 1600 to 1669 and is buried in Saint Mary Major.  He had a short tenure as Pope, serving from 1667-1169.  He was known for his great love for and service to the poor.

Pope Francis I died on Easter Monday 2025 during the Jubilee Pilgrimage Year.  His funeral Mass was celebrated at St. Peter’s Square on 26 April 2025.  At his funeral Mass, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re offered:  

Rich in human warmth and deeply sensitive to today’s challenges, Pope Francis truly shared the anxieties, sufferings and hopes of this time of globalisation. He gave of himself by comforting and encouraging us with a message capable of reaching people’s hearts in a direct and immediate way.

Afterwards, Pope Francis I was laid to rest at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in a private ceremony.  “Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and may his soul and the souls of all the faithfully departed rest in peace.  Amen.”

Thus the first Jesuit Pope is interred in the same Basilica as the first Franciscan Pope, a most fitting resting place for both.

For more information about the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major, visit 

https://www.basilicasantamariamaggiore.va/en.html