Pope Francis has opted to be buried in a wooden casket when he is laid to rest – amending a centuries-old tradition of a decorated send off as he works to simplify papal customs.
The 87-year-old pontiff – who turns 88 next month – enacted a new set of liturgical rites aimed at modernizing the Catholic Church that scraps lengthy, garish funeral practices his predecessors observed upon their deaths, Reuters reported.
When he dies, Francis will now be immediately placed in a single wooden casket lined with zinc, rather than the three interlocking caskets made of cypress, lead and oak.
Prior tradition laid the pontiff’s body within the airtight caskets and would allow for objects, such as coins and papers issued by the pope during his reign, to be buried with him.
The open coffin will then sit at St. Peter’s Basilica for mourners to pay their respects — nixing a funeral custom of the papal body being displayed on a raised platform propped up by decoration, Reuters reported.
Francis opted to be laid to rest at Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major, a church he frequently visits during international trips, and not alongside his immediate predecessors.
He will become the first pope in more than 100 years to be buried outside the Vatican — a title held by Leo XIII, who was entombed at Rome’s Basilica of St. John Lateran in 1903, Reuters reported.
Francis, who announced last year his desire to modify the intricate and lengthy funeral rites, has been open about his health challenges, including knee and back pain that now requires him to use a wheelchair.