Images of Pope Francis' grave released - accompanied only by a white rose

Images of Pope Francis' tomb in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome have been published.

A single, white rose was photographed on the stone tomb bearing the name by which he was known during his papacy, beneath a cross illuminated by a single light.

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On the marble table, beneath the paintings and icons, in front of the private apartment, there was always a fresh white rose. It was a symbol of the Pope's relationship with Therese of Lisieux, the saint to whom he always turned for mercy and to whom he confided his personal and other people's problems and difficulties.

That flower followed him throughout his life. He himself spoke about it in the book of interviews El Jesuita, written by Argentine journalists Sergio Rubin and Francesca Ambrogetti, who, describing the library of the then archbishop of Buenos Aires, noticed a vase full of white roses on a shelf, in front of a photograph of the Carmelite mystic who died at the age of 24.

The late Pope was buried in this church - one of the four main basilicas in the Italian capital, and one he visited regularly during his time as a cardinal and Pope - in a private ceremony after a public funeral at the Vatican.

Pope Francis' tomb in a niche in the Basilica of St. Mary Major can now be visited by the faithful, as the Church commemorates the late Pope with the second day of the Novemdiales, or 'nine days' of mourning. pic.twitter.com/AyhukxUtmV

- Vatican News (@VaticanNews) April 27, 2025

Francis was particularly devoted to the Virgin Mary, and Santa Maria Maggiore was the first church dedicated to her when it was built in the 4th century.

The basilica is located near the Colosseum, a stone's throw from the always crowded and chaotic Termini station in the city center - far from the confines of the Vatican, where popes are usually buried.

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But, this was a church with which the Latin American Pope had a deep connection.

The church's top priest had previously told an Italian newspaper that Pope Francis had expressed a desire to be buried there in 2022, drawing inspiration from the Virgin Mary.

Otherwise, Francis' funeral was attended by heads of state, prime ministers and monarchs from around the world - as well as hundreds of thousands of Catholics who had filled the streets leading to the Vatican to pay their respects. /Telegraph/

People continue to visit Pope Francis' tomb at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome

It is a simple tomb with only the inscription "Franciscus" and a reproduction of the late Pope's pectoral cross.

In a break with tradition, Pope Francis was buried outside the Vatican. pic.twitter.com/BXlo5vYG8I

- NEXTA (@nexta_tv) April 27, 2025