Catholic Head Pope Francis was on Saturday buried in a simple tomb at Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica (St. Mary Major Basilica) in Rome after a funeral mass attended by some 250,000 people (some reports said 400,000) at St. Peters Basilica in the Vatican
The pope, whose original name is Jorge Marlo Bergegio, died on Easter Monday April 21 at the age of 88.
The tomb was prepared behind a wooden barrier within the basilica that the Catholic head chose to be near an icon of the Madonna that he revered and often prayed before.
Francis, an Argentine, is the first pontiff in more than a century to be buried outside the Vatican as he requested a “simple” tomb.
He had said in his will released by the Vatican that his “tomb must be in the earth, simple, without particular decoration and with only inscription “Franciscus.”
Washington Post reports that guests at funeral included 130 national delegations, 50 heads of state and 10 reigning sovereigns, as well as officials and members of the Catholic Church. More than 200 cardinals and some 4,000 other clergy attended the service.
Among the dignitaries at the event were Presidents Donald Trump of the United States and his wife, Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, Emmanuel Macron of France and the British Primes Minister, Keir Starmer.
Former President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, and Price William were also in attendance.
The five-member Nigeria’s delegation to the burial was led by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
The burial rites were presided over by Cardinal Kevin Farrel while Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re delivered the homily. Rome-based journalists, Kielce Gussie did the first reading from the Acts of the Apostle.
Francis became pope in 2013 after the resignation of Pope Benedict. He was plagued by ill-health in the last few years. He was discharged from a hospital in Rome last month.
