This is the spot where Pope Francis has asked for his body to be buried.
The Argentine pontiff, who died on Easter Monday, aged 88, has broken with tradition and asked that his final resting place be away from St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.
Instead, the man known for his humbleness, insisted in his will that he be ‘buried in the earth’ at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, four miles from the Vatican.
On Tuesday hundreds of people were queuing up to enter the building with many pausing to sign a book of condolence set up by the huge imposing doors.
Large crowds gathered outside and those wanting to go inside had to pass through security barriers and X ray machines with police keeping a watchful eye.
In his will Pope Francis specifically asked that his final resting place be ‘in the niche of the side nave between the Cappella Paolina and the Capella Sforza’.
In exactly that location a large area has been sectioned off behind twelve-foot-high chipboard and a door leading to it is heavily padlocked.
Above is the marble memorial plaque of Paul V who died in 1621.
In his will Pope Francis specifically asked that his final resting place be ‘in the niche of the side nave between the Cappella Paolina and the Capella Sforza’. In exactly that location a large area has been sectioned off behind twelve-foot-high chipboard and a door leading to it is heavily padlocked. Above is the marble memorial plaque of Paul V who died in 1621.
The Argentine pontiff, who died on Easter Monday, aged 88, has broken with tradition and asked that his final resting place be away from St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. Pictured: Pope Francis’s body is laid out in state inside his private chapel at the Vatican, Monday, April 21
Pope Francis will not be the first Pope to be buried in the Basilica of St Mary Major but he will be the first to be buried outside the Vatican in more than 100 years
Several other Popes are buried at St Mary Major (pictured) and the last to be laid to rest there was Pope Clement IX who died in 1669
Pope Francis held a strong devotion for the Virgin Mary and the choice of his burial place was chosen specifically for that reason as the Basilica is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
The Cappella Paolina holds the Salus Populi Romani icon, which according to tradition was painted by St Luke and shows the Virgin Mary holding the baby Christ.
Before each international trip Pope Francis would visit the chapel and spend time in quiet prayer and he is said to have visited the Basilica 100 times in 2023 alone.
Pope Francis will not be the first Pope to be buried in the Basilica of St Mary Major but he will be the first to be buried outside the Vatican in more than 100 years.
The last Pope not to be buried in the traditional ‘papal cemetery’ under St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican was Leo XIII who lies in in St John the Lateran church.
Several other Popes are buried at St Mary Major and the last to be laid to rest there was Pope Clement IX who died in 1669.
Shortly after he was elected Pope Francis made it known he wanted to be buried in a simplified ceremony without the usual splendour associated with a papal funeral.
Pope Francis held a strong devotion for the Virgin Mary and the choice of his burial place was chosen specifically for that reason as the Basilica is dedicated to the Virgin Mary
This photograph shows people in Santa Maria Maggiore basilica (Basilica of Saint Mary Major) following the death of Pope Francis. On Tuesday hundreds of people were queuing up to enter the building with many pausing to sign a book of condolence set up by the huge imposing doors
Pope Francis is seen at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in front of the icon of the Virgin Mary after being discharged from Gemelli hospital in Rome, Italy, July 14, 2021
Instead of a triple coffin of oak, cypress and lead, he has asked for a simple wooden casket, and he wants simply his name in Latin, Franciscus on the tomb stone.
He visited Saint Mary Major on December 8, the feats day for the Immaculate Conception, and laid a golden rose at the statue of the Virgin Mary.
In his autobiography Pope Francis wrote: ‘I’ve always had a great devotion to St Mary Major, even before I became pope.’
He returned to the Saint Mary Major on his way back from the Gemelli hospital on March 23, after his 38-day hospital stay to lay flowers and he was there on April 12 to pray one final time.
Either side of the burial place are wooden confessionals where on Tuesday priests were hearing confessions from pilgrims.
Among them was Peter Nestor, 43, from Middlesborough, who was there with his wife and three young children.
He told MailOnline: ‘We arrived on Monday and when we got into the airport, we say the news and people were crying and praying so we joined in with them.
‘It was strange and surreal and very sombre, but we felt we wanted to be a part. It’s changed the atmosphere of our visit, but we will still try and make the most of it.
‘We were supposed to go the audience in the Vatican on Wednesday but now we will try to see if we can get into the lying in state.
‘We leave on Saturday so may try and catch the first part of the funeral before heading to the airport.
‘I think he will be very sadly missed, and he was a popular Pope because of his humbleness and simplicity.’
The Basilica of Saint Mary Major is particularly significant to Catholic faithful this year as Pope Francis had decaled 2025 to be a Jubilee year.
According to tradition those that pass through the Basical’s Porta Santa (Holy Door) on the left hand side of the building, will have ‘redemption and forgiveness.’
