Nigeria, April 26 -- Pope Francis, the leader of the Catholic Church, has been laid to rest at the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica, also known as St. Mary Major, one of the four major Catholic churches in Rome.

The pope, who is the first Latin American leader of the church and has heralded many firsts, has drifted from a century-old tradition with his choice of where he will be buried.

He had chosen to be buried outside the Vatican, making him the first Pope to do so in 120 years, since Pope Leo XIII was buried at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran.

According to CNN, before his death, he had requested a simple tomb in the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.

"The tomb must be in the earth; simple, without particular decoration and with the...