Farewell to Benedict XVI: thousands of faithful greet the pope emeritus in St. Peter’s Basilica

This morning, a crowd of faithful paid their last respects to the pope emeritus Benedict XVI in the Basilica of San Pedro, where from today until Wednesday the body of Joseph Ratzinger before the funeral which he will conduct on Thursday the Pope francesco.

The Italian president, Sergio Mattarella, and the premier of the European country, Giorgia Meloni, opened the long procession of faithful minutes before 9 am local time (5 in Argentina) trying to bid a last farewell to the pontiff emeritus who died on Saturday at 95 years.

The long line reached the immense St. Peter’s Square and surrounded Bernini’s famous columns, manned by an important security device and also by hundreds of journalists from all over the world who flocked to follow the pope’s burial.

“I’ve been here since six in the morning, it seemed normal to me to come and pay homage to the pope after all he has done for the Church,” Italian nun Anna Maria told AFP.

The remains of the first modern-era German pope were moved at dawn from the small private chapel of the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, where he had resided since his resignation in 2013, in the Vatican gardens, to the basilica during a private visitation ceremony, he said. the Vatican press office.

The doors of the immense basilica will remain open to the public until 19:00 local time (15 in Argentina) this Monday.

It will also be accessible on Tuesday and Wednesday so that the faithful can watch over Joseph Ratzinger, the fervent guardian of dogma, known for his conservative positions, who resigned from office in 2013 after eight years of pontificate, citing a decline in his strength.

Access is free and without the need to book an appointment, the Vatican specified.

Pope Francis paid various public tributes to the “beloved” Benedict XVI, “faithful servant of the Gospel and of the Church”, recalling his “goodness”, “his nobility”, “his testimony of faith and prayer, especially in these last years of life in retirement”.

In the images released on Sunday by the Vatican, the deceased can be seen lying on a catafalque, dressed in white with a red chasuble, the color of papal mourning, with a white miter decorated with a gold border and a woven rosary in his hands.

The catafalque was at the center of a small private chapel of the monastery, a particularly sober place, with a crucifix, a Christmas tree and a crib, which contrasts with the imposing spaces and Baroque altars of St. Peter’s Basilica where it will be veiled. .

Francis’ farewell

On Thursday, Francis will preside over the funeral of the pope emeritus in the immense Plaza de San Pedro.

The funerals of a pope emeritus, i.e. without functions, do not have a specific protocol, so some steps would be followed for a practicing pontiff.

It’s about First time in history that a pope presides over the funeral of his predecessor.

The ceremony will be unprecedented as well as solemn, as announced by the Vatican.

This act concludes the saga of the “two popes”, the two dressed in white, who have been living together for almost a decade in the smallest state in the world.

In 2005 the body of John Paul II, the last pope to die, was exhibited in the Vatican to receive the homage of numerous heads of state and government, as well as the faithful who stood in long queues for hours.

One million people attended the funeral of the charismatic Polish pope. Although Benedict XVI’s popularity has never reached that of John Paul II, the German pontiff, who reigned from 2005 to 2013, was a head of state and, as such, high dignitaries and the faithful will pay tribute to him.

At the end of the funeral, the coffin of the pontiff emeritus will be buried in the Vatican grottoes, under St. Peter’s, where the tombs of the popes are located, the Vatican said in a statement.

Born in 1927, Joseph Ratzinger was a professor of theology for 25 years in Germany before being named archbishop of Munich.

Strict custodian of dogma for a quarter of a century as prefect of the powerful Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he is remembered in Latin America for having vigorously led the fight against “Liberation Theology” and for having launched, already as pontiff, an offensive against abortion, euthanasia and the legalization of homosexual unions.

With information from AFP and Télam

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