By Melissa Butz
Accompanied by Cardinal Angelo Comastri, the archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis visited the crypt underneath the basilica.
It houses the tombs of several past popes. Pope Francis prayed for and remembered them.
He prayed before the tombs of Paul VI and Benedict XV before he made his way to various chapels. One in particular was the Clementine Chapel, which is closest to the bones of St. Peter buried within the necropolis.
He then prayed before Pius XII and Pius XI. The papal grottoes are one of the most visited places in Vatican City by tourists. It is marked by tombs, sarcophagus, tunnels, art and even models of the Vatican before it was what it is today.