Pope Francis buried in Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, better known as Pope Francis, who died on Monday, April 21, 2025, at the age of 88 in Vatican City, has been laid to rest in the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Italy. Pope was buried inside his favourite Rome church after a funeral mass in St Peter’s Square, the Vatican said on Saturday, April 26. The Argentinian pontiff, was laid to rest during a 30-minute burial ceremony which started at 1:00 pm (1100 GMT) at the Santa Maria Maggiore basilica in the Italian capital. As reported by PEOPLE, the pontiff's funeral began on the morning of Saturday, April 26, in St. Peter’s Square in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. The service was led by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals and concluded with the Ultima commendatio and the Valedictio. Following the Mass, Francis' coffin was transferred via a much-watched procession to the basilica of St. Mary Major for a private burial, making him the first pope in more than a century not to be interred at St. Peter's Basilica. "The Pope's final resting place is the Basilica of St. Mary Major in central Rome. Meanwhile. Senate President Godswill Akpabio led a five-member Nigerian delegation to the funeral of Pope Francis at Vatican City. The delegation was constituted by President Bola Tinubu and includes prominent clergy and diplomats such as Archbishop Matthew Kukah and Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu.