Pope Francis. Credit Line: Gregorio Borgia / AP / Profimedia
Pope Francis's inanimate body could be moved to Saint Peter's basilica from Wednesday, so that the public can pay a last tribute to him, Vatican spokesman Matteo announced on Monday, according to The Guardian.
A formal decision in this regard is to be taken on Tuesday by a group of Cardinals gathered to the Vatican, Bruni said.
Moving the body to the basilica would allow the believers to remain good from the former Pontiff, according to the funeral tradition of the Vatican. Saint Peter's Basilica is the place where, over time, the bodies of the popes were deposited before the funeral.
The ritual of confirming Pope Francis's death will take place on Monday evening, at 9:00 pm (Rome time), in the chapel of his residence in the Santa Marta House, where the body will be initially deposited, according to EFE, quoted by Agerpres.
The Vatican spokesman said that this is a desire expressed by Pope Francis during life. Until it, this moment took place in the chapel of the Apostolic Palace.
Last year, the Pope simplified the funeral rites through an official document, in which he established, among others, that his body be deposited in the chapel of the residence and not on a catapult in the Basilica of Saint Peter. The coffin is to be exposed to the open public, not closed, as was tradition.
At the same time, the Vatican confirmed that Pope Francis will be buried in the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, being for the first time in the last century when a pontiff is buried outside the Vatican. The decision was taken by Pope more than a year ago and reflects his devotion to the Virgin Mary and the special connection with this church.
Francis frequented Santa Maria Maggiore from the time when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires, and after his choice as a pope he visited over 100 times the icon Salus populi Romani, located inside the place, near the Paolina chapel. The Sovereign Pontiff confessed that the place is deeply close and spiritual, including by the connection with the Jesuit order from which he came: his founder, Ignatius de Loyola, celebrated his first Liturgy in 1538.
Santa Maria Maggiore basilica is one of the four major papal basilics in Rome and a UNESCO World Heritage Monument. Built in the present form in the 5th century, the church houses Paleocrhea mosaics and the grave of sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
Pope Francis, the first Latin American pontiff in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, died on Monday, at the age of 88. His pontificate, started in 2013, was marked by reform efforts, controversial social positions and tensions inside the Catholic hierarchy.
