The pontiff shunned fanfare by picking a small niche in the basilica he visited more than 100 times during his papacy
As a priest, and then cardinal, Jorge Mario Bergoglio would always call into Santa Maria Maggiore (Saint Mary Major), one of the four papal basilicas in Rome, during his regular visits to the Italian capital.
The fourth-century basilica with its distinctive bell tower is perched on one of Rome’s seven ancient hills in Esquilino, a neighbourhood that lies between the Colosseum and Termini train station which during the Roman empire served as a burial ground for slaves.
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