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where are all the popes buried

Most popes are buried in and around Rome, with a clear “center of gravity” at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.

Main places popes are buried

1. St. Peter’s Basilica and Vatican Grottoes

  • The single most important burial site for popes is St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.
  • More than half of all deceased popes are thought to be buried there, especially in the Vatican Grottoes , the crypt area under the basilica floor.
  • Since the current basilica was completed in 1626, the majority of popes who died afterward have been interred there.
  • The choice is symbolic: tradition says St. Peter himself, the first pope, is buried beneath the main altar, so many later popes wanted to rest near him.

2. Other major churches in Rome

Not all popes chose St. Peter’s. Several are buried in other major Roman basilicas and churches:

  • Basilica of St. John Lateran (the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome).
  • Basilica of St. Mary Major (Santa Maria Maggiore) – several Renaissance and Baroque popes are buried here.
  • Santa Maria sopra Minerva and other historic churches in Rome also hold papal tombs.

These churches often had a special link to a pope’s religious order, personal devotion, or a major event in his life.

3. Earlier popes and lost tombs

  • The earliest popes (1st–3rd centuries) were often buried in Christian catacombs around Rome , such as the Catacomb of Callixtus.
  • Many of these early tombs no longer exist or cannot be precisely located because of later building, destruction, or translation of remains.
  • Ancient tradition holds that several early popes were buried near St. Peter’s own grave on the Vatican hill, but the exact locations of many of these burials are now uncertain.

4. Popes buried outside St. Peter’s/Rome

  • A smaller number of popes are buried outside St. Peter’s and even outside Rome , often in the places where they died or had strong ties.
  • Examples include some medieval or Avignon-era popes whose remains stayed closer to the courts or regions where they had reigned; their tombs are now in cathedrals or abbeys beyond Rome.

Quick mental picture

If you imagine a map:

  • The largest cluster of papal tombs is under and inside St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.
  • A second ring is formed by the other big patriarchal basilicas and historic churches of Rome.
  • Then there is a scattered handful of papal tombs in catacombs or churches elsewhere in Italy and Europe , especially for earlier or non‑Roman papal courts.

In short, “where are all the popes buried?” → mostly at St. Peter’s, many in other major churches in Rome, and a smaller number in catacombs or churches outside Rome, with some very early tombs now lost or uncertain.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.