Virgin Mary

He was also a devotee of the Virgin Mary and as such, he chose to be buried in Santa Maria Maggiore, which sits outside the Vatican walls in the centre of Rome.

It was a fitting choice: Francis was particularly devoted to the Virgin Mary, and Santa Maria Maggiore was the first church to be dedicated to her when it was built in the 4th Century.

She proceeded to light the biggest Virgin Mary candle I’d ever seen in my life.

All that remained standing at his house was a statue of the Virgin Mary.

They walked through the remains Wednesday and took solace in what they could find among the wreckage — a cowbell, a Franciscan Apple china teacup and a Virgin Mary statue.