Pontiff tells Mexican broadcaster he will break with tradition and simplify papal funeral

Pope Francis has said he has “already prepared” his tomb in a Rome basilica in a further sign of the pontiff’s quest to break from longstanding Vatican tradition.

Francis, who turns 87 on 17 December, told the Mexican broadcaster N+ that he would be laid to rest in the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in the Esquilino neighbourhood in Rome, where he goes to pray before and after trips overseas.

Prayer will instead be said in his suite after chief surgeon says Francis should avoid strain on abdomen

Pope Francis’s recovery from surgery is going well but doctors have advised him not to deliver his Sunday blessing from a hospital balcony to avoid strain on his abdomen, his surgeon said.

Briefing reporters at the Gemelli hospital on Saturday, chief surgeon Sergio Alfieri also said the 86-year-old had agreed with doctors to stay there for at least all of next week.