Pope Francis, 1st Pope Not To Be Buried At St. Peter's In 122 Years!

Click to ENLARGE. From my 'popes_buried' spreadsheet.

Click to ENLARGE. From my 'popes_buried' spreadsheet.

Key: The Red Heart ('💗'):

'Vatican' & 'St. P' columns: Number buried at the Vatican & number of these buried in the St. Peter's Basilica.

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Click here to access this post with the Definitive List.

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Francis will be the 1st pope since 1903 NOT to be buried at St. Peter's.

That is quite the THING & there is a bit of irony to it too.

IF Francis had been a 'GREAT' pope, à la John Paul II, the 'College of Cardinals' would have overridden his wishes & buried him at St. Peter's. Both John Paul II & Benedict XVI wanted to be buried at home, i.e., Poland & Germany, but their written wishes were overridden. WHY? Because papal tombs are PILGRIMAGE SITES. They generate REVENUE! Simple as that.

But to also be charitable to Francis he did NOT ask to be buried outside Rome. So that helps. It means those wishing to visit his grave will still come to Rome. That would definitely have been a consideration.

He is NOT the first to be buried at Santa Maria Maggiore (St. Mary Major) -- the 1st Marian sanctuary in the Western world & one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome. Pope Francis, a lifelong St. Mary devotee was very fond of this Basilica given its Marion roots.

That he will be the first pope to be buried there since 1669 is QUITE THE THING. Wow. 356 year gap.

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Click to ENLARGE. Amazon link.