Pope Francis praying before the Byzantine icon of Salus Populi Romani at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome. Vatican News/file 

ROME — The Santa Maria Maggiore basilica, which Pope Francis chose as his final resting place, is a fifth-century church located in the center of Rome that already holds the tombs of seven popes.

Francis, who died on Monday aged 88, will be the first pontiff in more than a century not to be entombed in St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.

Francis was very devoted to the worship of the Virgin Mary and made a point of praying in Santa Maria Maggiore before leaving on trips abroad and upon his return to Rome.

Most recently, Francis prayed to the icon of the Virgin Mary inside the basilica on April 12, to mark the beginning of the Holy Week that culminated in Easter.

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Francis declared his desire to be entombed in the basilica — known in English as the Basilica of Saint Mary Major — in 2023.

The last pope to be buried there was Clement IX in 1669.

The last pontiff to be buried outside the Vatican was Leo XIII in 1903, whose final resting place is the Church of Saint John Lateran, the Cathedral of the bishop of Rome.

One of four papal basilicas in Rome, Santa Maria Maggiore holds the remains of several other renowned personalities, such as the architect and sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who designed St Peter's Square and its surrounding columns.

The interior of Santa Maria Maggiore remains close to its origins. The central nave is lined by 40 Ionic columns and contains exquisite mosaics.

One legend ties the basilica to the Virgin Mary from its origins. It says that a childless wealthy Roman couple wanted to donate their possessions to the Virgin Mary.

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She appeared to them in a vision and told them to build a church in her honor, where a miracle would take place. Snow fell that summer night in August 352 on the hill where the basilica now stands.

Another legend has Pope Liberius being told in a dream of the summer snowfall.

According to the Vatican, however, nothing remains of that original church. Construction of the current basilica began around 432 under Pope Sixtus III.

The basilica holds some of the Church's most important relics, including an icon of the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus, attributed to Saint Luke.

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It also holds pieces of wood believed to have been from Jesus's crib. The basilica's website says recent studies have dated the wood from the period of Jesus's birth.

© Agence France-Presse