Pope Francis’ will says he wants to be buried in ‘simple tomb’ in Rome [VIDEO]

As Cardinals prepared to meet on Tuesday to decide the date for Pope Francis’s funeral, the pontiff says in his will that he wants to be laid to rest at the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome, where six other popes are buried.

Pope Francis said he wants to be buried in a simple, undecorated tomb with only the inscription “Franciscus,” according to the Vatican, which released the document on Monday.

Death

The leader of the Catholic Church died Monday at the age of 88, just a day after celebrating Easter with a surprise appearance at St. Peter’s Square.

The Vatican said he died from a stroke that caused a coma and led to irreversible heart failure.

WATCH: Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra seal the doors of the papal apartment

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra seal the doors of the papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace and the door to the apartment of the Casa Santa Marta, where the late Pope Francis lived.

The rite of the certification of death and… pic.twitter.com/PP6j4SbqPr

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Will

In the will, dated June 29, 2022, Francis wrote that, with the “feeling that the sunset of my earthly life is approaching,” he wished to express his preferences only regarding plans for his burial.

“I have always entrusted my life and my priestly and episcopal ministry to the Mother of Our Lord, Mary Most Holy,” he wrote in the document. “Therefore, I ask that my mortal remains rest awaiting the day of resurrection in the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

“I ask that my tomb be prepared in the burial niche in the side aisle between the Pauline Chapel (Chapel of the Salus Populi Romani) and the Sforza Chapel of the Basilica,  The tomb should be in the ground; simple, without particular ornamentation, bearing only the inscription: Franciscus,” he wrote.

Cost of funeral

Pope Francis said the cost of preparing the burial will be covered by a “sum provided by a benefactor, which I have arranged to be transferred to the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major.”

Meanwhile, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra sealed the doors of the papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace, as well as the door to the apartment at Casa Santa Marta, where the late Pope Francis had lived.

Pope Francis’ funeral should be held between the fourth and sixth days after his death, according to the Apostolic Constitution.

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