Pope Francis was buried inside his favourite Rome church after a funeral mass in St Peter’s Square, the Vatican said on Saturday.

Francis, who died on Monday aged 88, was laid to rest during a 30-minute ceremony which started at 1:00 pm (1100 GMT) at the Santa Maria Maggiore basilica in the Italian capital.

The coffin of late Pope Francis is carried by pallbearers into Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica, in Rome on April 26, 2025. (Photo by Stefano Costantino / AFP)

Footage shared by the Holy See showed cardinals marking his wooden and zinc coffin with red wax seals.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who as camerlengo is running the Vatican’s day-to-day affairs until a new pope is elected, sprinkled it with holy water after it was lowered into a tomb set inside an alcove.

People attend the funeral ceremony of late Pope Francis at St Peter’s Square in the Vatican, on April 26, 2025. (Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP)

A reproduction of the pectoral cross worn by Francis during his lifetime hung above it.

The coffin of late Pope Francis, transported from St Peter’s Basilica to Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica, pass by spetcators and faithful in Rome on April 26, 2025. (Photo by Stefano Costantino / AFP)

Francis had asked that the tomb, located near the altar of Saint Francis, be simple and unadorned, reflecting the humble spirit of his papacy.

Members of the clergy attend Pope Francis’ funeral ceremony at St Peter’s Square in the Vatican on April 26, 2025. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP)

The tombstone bears only the inscription “Franciscus” — the pope’s name in Latin.

Its marble is sourced from Liguria, the northwestern Italian region once home to the Argentine pontiff’s Italian ancestors.

Cardinals of the Eastern and Oriental Catholic Churches arrive to pay a last moment of respect in front of the coffin of late Pope Francis, during the funeral ceremony at St Peter’s Square at the Vatican on April 26, 2025. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP)

Francis, born Jorge Bergoglio, had specified in his will the exact spot he wanted to be buried, in the side nave of the beloved fifth-century AD church.

The pontiff was devoted to the worship of the Virgin Mary and made a point of praying in Santa Maria Maggiore before leaving on trips abroad and upon his return to Rome.

He declared his desire to be entombed there in 2023.

Located in the heart of Rome, the basilica already holds the tombs of seven popes.

But the last one to be buried there was Clement IX in 1669. More recently, popes have usually been buried in St Peter’s Basilica.

Faithful attend Pope Francis’ funeral ceremony at St Peter’s Square in the Vatican on April 26, 2025. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP)

One of four papal basilicas in Rome, Santa Maria Maggiore also holds the remains of several other renowned figures, such as the architect and sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who designed St Peter’s Square and its surrounding columns.

Cardinals syand during late Pope Francis’ funeral ceremony at St Peter’s Square at the Vatican on April 26, 2025. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP)

Built around 432 AD under Pope Sixtus III, the basilica holds some of the Catholic Church’s most important relics, including an icon of the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus, attributed to Saint Luke.

AFP