The Argentine pontiff, who died on Easter Monday, aged 88, wanted his grave to be within the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, four miles from the Vatican, and which is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. His will said he wanted it to be ‘in the earth’ and with just a simple tombstone carrying his name in Latin, Franciscus and a black cross for decoration. As the converted Popemobile hearse wound its way past the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Roman Forum and the Colosseum, thousands turned out to line the streets.
For one last time Pope Francis made his way from the Vatican, symbolically crossing the River Tiber, as he made the 30-minute journey to the church in the Esquilino district. 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’.