Pope Francis has left instructions regarding his own funeral

Pope Francis spoke about his own funeral in an interview

Pope Francis has formulated exact requirements regarding the conduct of his funeral. These were communicated in a book containing interviews given to the Vatican correspondent of the Spanish publication ABC.

He expressed his wish that a closed casket be used in the funeral ceremony. The pontiff does not want to be exposed on a catafalque.

The 86-year-old Argentine-born Pope Francis has had some minor health setbacks lately.

He currently needs a wheelchair due to knee problems. Maybe that’s why he’s been open about his funeral plans. The pontiff expressed his wish to be buried with the respect due to any believer, according to the interviews published in the volume “El Sucesor”, edited by Javier Martinez-Brocal.

Referring to the funeral of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, Francis emphasized the following:

“It will be the last one celebrated like this, with the Pope’s body exposed outside the coffin, on a catafalque. I spoke with the master of ceremonies and eliminated this and many others, because the ritual was too loaded”, declared the Pontiff.

His funeral will take place in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore

The Pope confirmed that he had already given instructions to be buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. He made this decision, unlike his predecessors.

According to tradition, they all rest in St. Peter’s Basilica.

He expressed a desire to be buried in a room where the chandeliers are found.

“There is the place, they confirmed to me that everything is ready,” the prelate said in the interview given to Martinez-Brocal.

Pope Francis revealed that the Marian basilica had a special place in his heart. Even before he became Pope in 2013. He mentioned that when he was just Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, he used to often visit that sacred place to pray, long before he was elected after his resignation his predecessor.

We recall that on February 11, 2013, Benedict announced his decision to resign (effective February 28, 2013), justifying it by a decrease in mental and physical strength due to advancing age.

His resignation was the first act of resignation by a Pope since Gregory XII in 1415 and the first of its kind by a Pope since Celestine V in 1294.

In the interviews, Francis also shared a tasty joke: one day, at Santa Maria Maggiore, a man tried to trick him by selling him a watch.

“Out of pure instinct I told him that I had no money on me, and later I was told that if I had taken out my wallet he would have slapped me and stolen it. Shocking”, confessed the Sovereign Pontiff.