Pope Francis has said he has “already prepared” his tomb in a Rome basilica in a further sign of the pontiff’s quest to break from longstanding Vatican tradition.
Francis, who turns 87 on 17 December, told the Mexican broadcaster N+ that he would be laid to rest in the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in the Esquilino neighbourhood in Rome, where he goes to pray before and after trips overseas.
Francis cancelled a trip to the Cop28 climate summit in Dubai after a bout of acute bronchitis in late November.
He has made more than 100 visits to the fifth-century basilica, where he prays in front of a venerated image of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus.
The pope told the journalist Valentina Alazraki that he had met the master of ceremonies in order to simplify papal funerals, adding: “I’ll launch a new ritual.”
Popes are usually buried with much fanfare in the grottoes beneath St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. “At the very least, this is another break with longstanding tradition, just like his decision not to live in the Apostolic Palace [the official papal residence],” said Paddy Agnew, a Vatican reporter for Ireland’s Sunday Independent.
The pope’s health has declined in recent years, forcing him to use a wheelchair and feeding speculation about him stepping aside, as did his predecessor Benedict XVI.
Francis had a colon operation in 2021 and was hospitalised in early April with bronchitis. The pope, who marked the 10th anniversary of his papacy in March, said in the interview that despite his health problems, he had “no thought of resigning”.
Francis has made his mark amid battles with a deeply conservative faction of the church, irked by his fixation on issues such as social inequality, the climate crisis and refugees. When asked about his health in an interview in September, he quipped: “Still alive … although some want me dead.”
Born to Italian immigrants, Francis had part of one lung removed in his early 20s while training to be a priest in his native Argentina.
Since May last year he has frequently been seen in a wheelchair or using a walking stick because of a knee ailment. The Vatican has not disclosed exactly what the problem is, but José María Villalón, the chief doctor at the Spanish football club Atlético de Madrid, was called upon to treat the issue.
Villalón, an expert in the field of sport traumatology, said in November last year that Francis, whom he described as “a very charming and very stubborn patient”, had made it clear he did not want surgery on his knee.
