Pope Francis to be laid to rest in stone from 'the land of his grandparents'

In death, as in life, Pope Francis chose humility. The late pontiff's final resting place inside Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major is marked by a simple tomb of Ligurian slate — grey and unadorned, bearing only his name, Franciscus, and a replica of his pectoral cross. No elaborate carvings, no Latin epitaphs. Just stone, silence, and a stone that echos with the sound of his family roots.

As per Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, based on the late Pope's personal request, his tomb has been built from "stone of Liguria, the land of his grandparents".

As per the Vatican News, stone for the Pope's tomb has been imported from the hills of northern Italy.

The tomb lies tucked between the Pauline and Sforza chapels, near the Altar of St. Francis — a quiet corner of the basilica.

It was the Pope's personal request that his tomb be built from the rock of Cogorno, the Ligurian village where his great-grandfather Vincenzo Sivori once lived before setting sail for Argentina in the 1800s. That journey became the basis of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, aka Pope Francis' story.

As per the report, though his public life was global, Pope Francis kept his Ligurian roots largely private. Even the Mayor of Cogorno, Enrica Sommariva, admitted surprise upon learning that the had chosen stone from their hills for his tomb. 

The slate used in the tomb comes from a district of 18 quarries nestled in the Ligurian hills. Franca Garbaino, head of the Slate District, called it "not a noble stone," but "the people's stone" — one that "gives warmth." 

In the end, Pope Francis — the first Jesuit Pope, the first from the Americas — chose not marble or bronze, but Ligurian slate. It is how he wanted to be remembered: not with grandeur, but with grace.