With St. Peter’s, St. John Lateran, St. Paul Outside the Walls, it is one of four basilicas in Rome granted special status by the pope. In his will, he wrote that he had visited the Marian basilica at the beginning and the end of every apostolic trip he took during his 12-year papacy.

Pope Francis's coffin arrives at St. Maria Maggiore, marking a historic burial outside Vatican walls for the first time in over a century.- Watch Video on English Oneindia