While the whole world pays tribute to Pope Francis in his funeral, a silent detail and loaded with symbolism has touched the heart of the community of Cogorno, a small Italian town in the Liguria region. There, in Lavagna heights, between cliffs and sea, the stone chosen to guard the remains of the first Latin American Pope is born.
Liguria marble: a return to roots
The announcement was made by Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, Archpriest coadjutor of the Basilica of Santa María la Mayor, and left a trail of emotion: the tomb of Pope Francis has been made with marble of Liguria, the homeland of his maternal grandparents. A simple, but meaningful choice.
The grave, with the only inscription “Franciscus” and its pectoral cross, is located between the Paulina chapel and the Sforza chapel, in a side nave of the Liberian basilica. There is no ostentation. Only stone, history and a deep family connection.
A humble, resistant stone … and warm
The material, known as Lavagna slate, is dark as ancient ink, resistant as the will and moldable under expert hands. This is described by those who extract it: the “spacchini”, artisans of the stone.
Franca Garbarino, president of the district of La Pizarra de Liguria, expresses it with simplicity: “It is not a noble stone, but it is the stone of the town. Humble, essential, close. As Pope Francis.” And he adds: “Returns heat, like a caress. He does not impose, accompanies. And combines with everything, like him, who knew how to talk with everyone.”
From cogorno to Rome: a revealed link
The small town of Cogorno, with just over five thousand inhabitants, has felt this news as an unexpected gift. There Vincenzo Sivori was born, the Pope’s great grandfather, before emigrating to Buenos Aires, where Jorge Mario Bergoglio would be born years later.
Angela Sivori, a distant cousin of the Pontiff, still lives in Cogorno. His daughter, Cristina Cogorno, remembers in tears: “He made us a great gift. He said he wanted to rest on the stone of his grandparents. It’s something beautiful. A last surprise.”
Discreet encounters, indelible memories
The Pope never boasted from his ligures roots. The few visits registered during his public life linked him more with the Piedmont. However, two moments sealed the loop with their lineage.
The first was in 2015, when a Delegation of Sesstri Levante, with local authorities, gave him a bask -level of Pizarra. The second, in 2017, when in Genoa, seven members of the Sivori family greeted: “I finally know the Sivori!” He exclaimed between smiles.
A grave that tells a story
In the parish church of San Lorenzo, patron of Cogorno, there is a board plate dedicated to Vincenzo Sivori. Now, that same stone will mark the place of eternal rest of his great -grandson.
The district of La Pizarra de Liguria has already offered its collaboration to create funeral slabs or certify its authenticity. A sample of respect for a Pope who knew how to walk with humility among the greats of the earth.
With this election, Pope Francis has not only left a will of faith, but also one of identity and humility. He wanted to close his way on earth with the same sobriety with which he lived his pontificate: without stridency, in the stone of the town, among the roots that saw him leave for the world.