Pope urges moderation even on the last journey

Personal example is very important in any situation. In the case of religious leaders, this example should not be lacking. Pope Francis, who during his pontificate has avoided much of the pomp and privilege associated with the global leader of the Catholic Church, has announced his desire to be buried in a simple wooden coffin, Reuters reports. According to a document on the formal ritual published on Wednesday, the Vatican said that Pope Francis will abandon a centuries-old practice, which involves burying the deceased pope in three coffins inserted one into another and made of cypress, lead and oak. Instead, Pope Francis will be buried in a single wooden coffin, lined with zinc. The pope's body will not be displayed on a raised platform or catafalque in St. Peter's Basilica for visitors to see in Rome, as has been the case with previous popes. Visitors will still be able to pay their respects, but Francis' body will remain inside the open casket. Francis, who turns 88 on December 17, has struggled with health problems on occasion in recent years but has appeared to be in good health in recent months. The pontiff is currently confined to a wheelchair because of knee and back pain, but he made two demanding foreign trips in September and hosted a month-long summit of Catholic leaders at the Vatican in October. Last year, the pope said he wanted to simplify the elaborate and lengthy funeral rituals used for his predecessors. Pope Francis announced at the time that he would be the first pope to be buried outside the Vatican in more than a century. Instead of being buried alongside 91 other popes in St. Peter's Basilica, Francis said he wanted to be buried in Rome's Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore is the church where Pope Francis traditionally prays before and after each of his trips abroad. The last pope to be buried outside the Vatican walls was Pope Leo XIII, who died in 1903 and is buried in the Basilica of St. John Lateran.