Tens of thousands of faithful paraded this Monday before the body of Benedict XVIin the burning chapel installed in the Basilica of Saint Peter, in the Vatican, to bid farewell to the emeritus pontiff, who died on Saturday at the age of 95.
The long line reached the immense Plaza de San Pedro and surrounded the famous columns of the esplanade, guarded by an important security device and also by hundreds of journalists from all over the world arrived to cover the funeral of the pope.
The Vatican, after closing the doors of San Pedro at 7:00 p.m. (6:00 p.m. GMT), reported that some 65,000 people came to say goodbye to the emeritus pontiff.
“He was a great pope, deep and unique,” said the Italian Francesca Gabrielli, who traveled from Tuscany to go to the funeral chapel.
The body of Joseph Ratzinger lies on a catafalque covered by a golden clothsurrounded by two Swiss Guards in full regalia, in front of the basilica’s main altar dominated by the black bronze canopy with imposing twisted columns designed by the master of the Baroque Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
Several cardinals and members of the Roman Curia watch over the dead, while the private secretary for years of the emeritus pope, Bishop Georg Gänswein, receives the condolences of the authorities.
“lord i love you”, were the last words spoken in Italian by Benedict XVI shortly before he passed away on Saturday in the presence of a nurse, according to Bishop Gänswein.
The faithful entered in silence through the central corridor of the largest Catholic temple in the world, most of them photographing the body of the expapade with their mobile phones, who He was dressed in white with a red chasublethe color of papal mourning, wearing a white miter trimmed with gold trim and an entwined rosary in his hands. His face is almost unrecognizable.
Some prayed or made the sign of the cross as they passed his remains.
A tall candle, along with many candles, illuminate part of the room, while the smell of incense perfumes the environment.
Among the first to arrive to say goodbye to Benedict XVI was the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloniand the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella.
The remains of the first German pontiff of the modern era were transferred 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 in the course of a private ceremony.
On Tuesday and Wednesday it will be accessible from 06:00 GMT to 18:00 GMT so that the faithful can watch over Joseph Ratzinger, the brilliant theologian and fervent guardian of dogmaknown for his conservative positions, who resigned from his position in 2013 after eight years of pontificate, citing the decline of his forces.
Pope Francis paid several 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 retired life”.
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Funeral of a Pope without functions
On Thursday, Francis will preside over the solemn funeral of the pope emeritus in the immense Plaza de San Pedro.
The funeral of a pope emeritus, that is to say without functions, does not have a specific protocolso some of the steps for a practicing pontiff would be followed.
This is the first time in history that a pope has presided over his predecessor’s funeral.
The ceremony will begin at 08:30 GMT, it will be unprecedented as well as sober, as announced by the Vatican.
The Spanish royal house reported the presence at the funeral of the Queen Sofiawife of the emeritus monarch Juan Carlos I. The Polish president, Andrzej Duda.
This act will conclude the saga of the “two popes”, the two dressed in white, who have lived together for almost a decade in the smallest state in the world.
At the end of the funeral, the coffin of the emeritus pontiff will be buried in the Vatican caves, under St. Peter’s, in the same crypt where John Paul II was until 2011, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Monday.
After eight years of pontificate marked by multiple crises and having spent the last 10 years of his life praying and studying, Benedict XVI was accused at the beginning of 2022 of having covered up four pedophile priests when he was archbishop in Germany, a stain that tarnishes his papacy and a case he denied until the end of his life.
“He knew many things. Too bad it didn’t help uncover those scandals”, lamented the German Valeria Michalak, after having paid tribute to her in the basilica. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
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