Julius OkorieAs the world focuses on Rome today for the funeral of Pope Francis, there are strong indications that the cost of his burial is likely to be less than that of his predecessor.
This follows a number of reforms he introduced in the course of his 12-year reign as the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church
Join our WhatsApp ChannelLate Pope Francis requested a more modest burial. In 2024, he changed the longstanding burial rules that required three coffins – two made of cypress and oak, and one of lead, one inside the other. Under the new rules, popes can now be buried in a single coffin made of wood and lined with zinc. The rule change also allows for burial outside the Vatican, per Francis’s wishes.
His coffin will be transferred to the Basilica of St Mary Major, a church outside the Vatican’s walls, where he had asked for a simple tomb in the ground. Francis will be the first pope to be buried there since the 1600s, and the first in more than 100 years to be buried outside the Vatican.
Elected to the papacy in 2013, Francis was known for embracing a humble lifestyle. The Argentine-born pope chose to live in the Vatican guest house rather than the lavish Apostolic Palace, and often travelled in modest vehicles.
“He always was more enthusiastic about going places where normal people lived, not the halls of power, the palaces and so on. That was very typical of him,” said Massimo Faggioli, professor of Theology and Religious Studies at Villanova University in Pennsylvania.
In his last will and testament released Monday, Francis said his burial would be covered by an unnamed benefactor whom he had previously arranged, and that would be sent to the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
“It’s about symbols, because in Catholicism, symbols are very important, and this is one of those cases,” Faggioli added.
Historically, papal funerals have cost millions. In 1978, the deaths of two popes and the subsequent conclave cost the Vatican $20m – equivalent to more than $101m today.
Recall that in 1978 two Popes died barely within a month interval. Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul I. Pope Paul VI died on August 6, 1978, and was succeeded by John Paul I, who died 33 days later on September 28, 1978. This period is famously known as the “Year of Three Popes” because the short-lived reign of John Paul I was followed by the election of John Paul II later that year.
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More recently, Pope John Paul II’s funeral in 2005, and his successor Pope Benedict XVI’s election, cost $9m (about $14.7m).
That year, the Church brought in $12.4m in revenues from a tourist influx to its museums. Other sources of income include donations, stocks, bonds, real estate and other investments.
Ahead of today’s funeral however, hotels are already fully booked. Residenza Paolo VI, one of the closest hotels to Vatican City, is fully booked through mid-May. TMark Hotel Vaticano is also sold out according to its website. Estimated a quarter of a million people are expected to be in Rome for today’s event.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
