Some 65,000 people bid farewell to Benedict XVI on the first day of the official wake

Published:
02/01/2023
08:54 (UTC+1)


Last update:
02/01/2023
7:39 p.m. (UTC+1)

The solemn funeral will be on Thursday in Saint Peter’s Square. More than two million people came to say goodbye to John Paul II after his death in 2005.

0:34

Euskaraz irakurri: 65,000 people inguruk agur esan diote Benedikto XVI.ari beila ofizialaren lehen egunean

Some 65,000 people have entered St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican to pay their last homage to Benedict XVI, whose mortal remains are located just in front of the monumental canopy, the work of the Italian Gian Lorenzo Bernini. More than two million people came to say goodbye to John Paul II after his death in 2005.

Thousands of faithful, many of them with German flags, lined up in the morning to pay tribute and say their last goodbye to Benedict XVIwhose mortal remains have been transferred at dawn to the basilica of Saint Peter with a private rite and, therefore, without cameras or journalists present.

The late Benedict XVI rests on a catafalque, covered by a red velvet cloth and supported by two cushions, wearing a red chasuble and wearing an ornate white miter on his head. In addition, in his hands, he entwines a rosary in his hands, as can be seen in the photos released by the Vatican and accompany this news.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s remains rest at the ‘Mater Ecclesiae’ monastery in the Vatican.

Starting Monday morning at 9 am, the Pope Emeritus’ body with lie in state in St. Peter’s Basilica for public viewing until Thursday morning. pic.twitter.com/IwuShYpmqc

—Vatican News (@VaticanNews) January 1, 2023

Thursday will take place funeralin Saint Peter’s Square and in the presence of the faithful, official delegations from Italy and Germany, and will have the assistance of other authorities, in a personal capacity.

Since he passed away last Saturday until today, his mortal remains were in a small private chapel in the monastery inside the Vatican gardens, where he has lived for the last almost 10 years, only adorned by a Christmas tree and a manger.

Up to there close friends came yesterday, including some family, former work colleagues or religious and priests who knew him in person.

His mortal remains will rest together with those of other pontiffs, in the crypt under St. Peter’s Basilica. Some media have considered the possibility that his remains occupy the tomb of his predecessor, John Paul II, who in 2011 was transferred to the surface of the basilica, although this information has not been confirmed by the Vatican.