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, The Guardian reports.
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, The Guardian said.
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.”
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.”