Along with a number of other objects that are customary for popes to carry in their coffins, Pope Francis will be buried with a touching document.
A ‘Rogito’, a biography of the first Latin American pope, will be interred with him, as has been the Roman Church’s tradition.
The paper, called ‘Deed’ in English, is written in Ecclesiastical Latin, the official language of the Catholic Church. It is sealed in a metal cylinder and placed inside the coffin.
The Rogito isn’t the only object customarily interred in the Pope’s casket, according to Vatican News. Pope Francis, like his predecessors, was buried with coins and medals struck during his papacy, as well as his pallium, a white, wool vestment worn over the shoulders during church services.
The full Latin text of the Rogito was made public by the Holy See Press Office in advance of today’s (April 26) Requiem Mass for Francis.
A’simple and much-loved shepherd’ was the description of the 266th pope in the note, which Vatican News released in English.
The Rogito recounts the life of Francis, whose real name was Jorge Mario Bergoglio, and how he grew up in a household of Italian heritage in Buenos Aires.
Francis, a Jesuit, completed his studies in Chile and earned a degree in philosophy.
Francis, the Archbishop of Buenos Ares, is reported to have “lived in an apartment and prepared his own dinner, because he felt himself one of the people,” as well as to have traveled “by subway and bus.”
He was named Francis, “following the example of Saint Francis of Assisi,” because “he wished above all to care for the poorest in the world.” He was anointed Pope in 2013 following Benedict XVI’s resignation.
“He exercised the Petrine ministry with untiring dedication in favor of dialogue with Muslims and representatives of other religions, sometimes inviting them to prayer meetings and signing joint declarations for concord among the faithful of different creeds,” the Rogito continued.
It also describes how, “because he could not do without contact with people,” he opted for more modest accommodations at the Domus Sanctae Marthae while serving as pope.
Francis’ hospitalization for bilateral pneumonia and his final public appearance on Easter Sunday this year, which was celebrated on April 20, were mentioned in the Rogito after he made repeated pleas for peace, helped ‘the innocent’, and guided the Catholic world through the Covid-19 pandemic. The next day he passed away.
“Francis left to all a marvellous witness of humanity, of holy living, and of universal fatherhood,” the Rogito said.
The Pope, who was born in Argentina, will be buried in Rome’s St. Mary Major Basilica, one of the city’s four main papal basilicas, following the funerals, which were attended by world leaders and citizens who gathered in St. Peter’s Square to pay their respects.
Instead of being buried in the grotto of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, Francis himself asked to be buried in a plain underground tomb within the basilica.
