White smoke! The 133 Cardinal electors gathered in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel have elected the new Pope. He will appear soon at the central window of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Pope Francis’ tomb in the Basilica of St. Mary Major has been made with materials from the Italian region of Liguria. It is a simple tomb bearing only the inscription “Franciscus” and a reproduction of the late Pope’s pectoral cross.
The tomb is located near the Altar of St. Francis, in the niche of the side nave between the Pauline Chapel (Salus Populi Romani Chapel) and the Sforza Chapel.
Speaking on television, the Coadjutor Archpriest of the Basilica, Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, announced Pope Francis’ desire to be buried in a tomb made from the “stone of Liguria, the land of his grandparents.”