Virgin Mary

It's senior priest previously told an Italian newspaper that Pope Francis had said he wished to be laid to rest there in 2022, citing inspiration from the Virgin Mary.

He was also a devotee of the Virgin Mary and as such, he chose to be buried in Santa Maria Maggiore, which sits outside the Vatican walls in the centre of Rome.

It was a fitting choice: Francis was particularly devoted to the Virgin Mary, and Santa Maria Maggiore was the first church to be dedicated to her when it was built in the 4th Century.

She proceeded to light the biggest Virgin Mary candle I’d ever seen in my life.

All that remained standing at his house was a statue of the Virgin Mary.