Pope Francis, avoiding pomp, asks to be buried in simple wooden casket

By Joshua McElwee

Pope Francis, who has shunned much of the pomp and privilege of leading the global Catholic Church, has decided that a simple wooden casket will suffice when the time comes for his funeral.

In a new formal rite published on Wednesday, the Vatican said Francis will forego a centuries-old practice of burying the late pope in three interlocking caskets made of cypress, lead and oak. Instead, Francis will be buried in a single, zinc-lined wooden coffin.

The late pope will also not be put on display atop a raised platform, or catafalque, in St. Peter's Basilica for visitors in Rome to view, as was the case with previous popes.

Visitors will still be welcome to pay their respects, but Francis' body will be left inside the casket, with the lid off.

Francis, who turns 88 on Dec. 17, has suffered occasional bouts of ill health in recent years, but has seemed in fine form in recent months.

He now uses a wheelchair due to knee and back pain, but made two demanding foreign trips in September and hosted a major, month-long summit of Catholic leaders at the Vatican in October.

The pope said last year he wanted to simplify the elaborate, book-long funeral rites that have been used for his predecessors.

Francis also announced then that he will be the first pope to be buried outside the Vatican in more than a century.

Instead of being interred with some 91 other late popes in St. Peter's Basilica, Francis said he wants to be buried at Rome's Basilica of St. Mary Major, which is dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God.

St. Mary's is the church where Francis traditionally goes to pray before and after each of his foreign trips.

The last pope to be buried outside the Vatican was Leo XIII, who died in 1903 and is buried in Rome's Basilica of St. John Lateran.

Three caskets had traditionally been used for burying popes to create an airtight seal around the late pontiff's body. They also allowed for objects, such as coins or papers issued by the pope during his reign, to be buried with the body.