Pope Francis Modernizes Papal Funeral Rites, Opts for Simplicity

The 87-year-old pontiff will forgo traditional burial customs, choosing a single wooden casket and requesting interment outside the Vatican.

Pope Francis has approved a simplified version of the papal funeral rites, emphasizing humility and his role as a shepherd rather than a powerful figure.
The revised rites eliminate the use of three interlocking caskets traditionally used for popes, opting instead for a single wooden coffin lined with zinc.
Francis will be the first pope in over a century to be buried outside the Vatican, requesting interment at Rome’s Mary Major, a site of personal significance to him.
The new funeral protocols also remove the practice of displaying the pope’s body on a raised platform for public viewing in St. Peter’s Basilica.
These changes reflect Francis’ broader commitment to simplifying and modernizing Church traditions, aligning with his vision of a more modest Catholic Church.