The ‘People’s Pope’ passed away this morning on Easter Monday
Pope Francis I passed away this morning, just hours after delivering his final public words yesterday, on Easter Sunday. The Pope had been facing declining health for some months, including a battle with severe double pneumonia.
The humble Pope Francis came from a working class background in Buenos Aires, where he took up several odd jobs in his youth, even working the doors of a nightclub as a bouncer. His simple roots are thought to be the cause of his dedication and support to marginalised groups and the poor, which earned him the unofficial title of the ‘People’s Pope’.
But what exactly earned him this title, and how did Francis break away from some of the grandeur associated with leading the Vatican? Here are the admirable ways Francis broke papal tradition in order to live a more humble life.
Opted for a humble apartment
Throughout his papacy, Francis opted for much more modest living quarters than is tradition for a pope.
The pontiff can choose his own apartments within Vatican city. Most popes choose to live in the grand Apostolic Palace, also known as the Papal Palace, which is north of St. Peter’s Basilica.
But the People’s Pope wanted to live in simpler accommodation, so opted to move into a smaller two-room suite within the Domus Sanctae Marthae guesthouse.
Francis – born Jorge Mario Bergoglio – turned down the grand top-floor palatial penthouse apartment which boasts more than 12 rooms, quarters for staff, a terrace and extensive views across Rome, instead staying in the guesthouse which is used to house visiting cardinals.
He also opted to take his meals in the communal dining room.
Turned down the generous papal salary
The leader of the Catholic Church is entitled to a salary – estimated to be the equivalent of around £24,100 a month or £290,000 a year.
But Francis, with his values of austerity and empathy with the poor, declined to receive his. Instead, he directed it to be donated back to the church, put into trust, used for a foundation or passed to a family member.
Despite not drawing a salary, Pope Francis’ net worth was estimated at a whopping £12million thanks to the assets linked to his papal office. These include five cars, the apartment and clothing.
The first Pope in a century to be buried outside the Vatican
Nine days of official mourning typically take place after the Pope’s death, with the burial happening between the fourth and sixth day after death (except for special reasons). For Francis, this means his funeral will happen between April 24 and April 27.
He will be the first pope in more than a century to be buried outside the Vatican, having stripped back the elaborate funeral rites historically associated with burying the pontiff.
Instead of the three traditional nested coffins made from cypress, lead and oak, Francis ordered his body to be laid to rest in a simple wooden coffin lined with zinc.
And he asked not to be buried beneath St Peter’s Basilica, but rather the the Basilica of St Mary Major in Rome’s Esquilino district, where he visited several times during his papacy to pray.
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