The Basilica of St. Mary Major, also known as the Liberian Basilica, is one of the four papal basilicas of Rome and home to the relic of the Holy Cradle and the icon of Salus Populi Romani, a Byzantine icon attributed to St. Luke depicting the Madonna and Child Jesus holding a Gospel book.
The basilica has been an important place for Pope Francis, who prays there before the icon before and after all his apostolic journeys.
In December 2023, in an interview with Mexican television program “N+”, the pope expressed his desire to be buried in the basilica, not in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica.
In his chirograph, the pope appointed Makrickas as the coadjutor archpriest of St. Mary Major, with the right to succeed 78-year-old Polish Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, who has served as archpriest since 2016.
The archpriest is traditionally a cardinal who serves a five-year renewable term, exercising “executive power of government for the activities of the basilica itself and for the administration of the chapter’s assets,” and is the legal representative of the basilica.
The statue also created two new positions: the delegate for pastoral care, who is the archpriest’s first collaborator for the activities of the canons and the basilica and works in close collaboration with the master of ceremonies and the delegate for administration, who oversees the administrative tasks of the basilica.
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