Pope Francis announced this week that he intends on having a much more simple funeral than those of his predecessors at the Vatican, including a humble wooden casket.

Pope Francis, who has shunned much of the pomp and privilege of leading the global Catholic Church, has decided that a simple wooden casket will suffice when the time comes for his funeral.

Pope Francis approves new papal funeral rites for when he dies to simplify rituals, allow for burial outside the Vatican

Pope Francis breaks centuries-old traditions, opting for a simple wooden coffin and no public viewing for his funeral. Instead, he’ll be buried outside the Vatican. Know why the humble pontiff is choosing simplicity over extravagance.

The 87-year-old pontiff – who turns 88 next month – enacted a new set of liturgical rites aimed at modernizing the Catholic Church that scraps lengthy, garish funeral practices his predecessors observed upon their deaths.