Former Pope Benedict XVI was laid to rest with a funeral mass before thousands of mourners in St. Peter’s Square on Thursday, with Pope Francis presiding over the event and honoring his predecessor’s bravery.
Thousands watched and wept and bells rang as pallbearers carried the cypress coffin of Benedict XVI from St. Peter’s Basilica and placed it on the altar. Pope Benedict, born Joseph Ratzinger, died on December 31 at the age of 95.
Francisco, dressed in the crimson vestments, opened the mass with a prayer.
“Clinging to the last words of the Lord and the witness of his whole life, we too, as an ecclesial community, want to follow in his footsteps and entrust our brother into the hands of the Father,” Francis said at the end.
Pope Francis sits next to the coffin of the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in Saint Peter’s Square during a funeral mass at the Vatican, Thursday, January 5, 2023.
(AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
FUNERAL MASS OF POPE EMERITUS BENEDICT XVI IN SAN PETER’S SQUARE, PRESIDED BY POPE FRANCIS
An open Gospel book was also placed on the coffin and Benedict XVI’s secretary, Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, leaned over and kissed it.
Heads of state and royalty, clergy and thousands of people from around the world attended the ceremony, despite Benedict XVI’s pleas for simplicity.
Italy and Germany were uniquely invited to send official delegations, but the leaders of other countries accepted the Vatican’s offer and came in their “private capacity.” Notable guests included several heads of state, at least four prime ministers, and two delegations of royal representatives.
Cardinals arrive in procession before the funeral Mass for the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. Benedict died at age 95 on Dec. 31 at the monastery on the grounds. from the Vatican where he had spent almost his entire decade in retirement.
(AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
The coffin of the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is brought to St. Peter’s Square for a funeral mass at the Vatican, Thursday, January 5, 2023.
(AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
In addition, a crowd of patriarchs joined 125 cardinals in seats adjacent to the altar.
Many common people traveled from Benedict’s native Bavaria and wore traditional dress, including coats of boiled wool to protect themselves from the morning chill.
The funeral ritual had some modifications with respect to the traditional processions, since Benedict was not a reigning pontiff when he died.
POPE EMERITUS BENEDICT XVI DEATH AT 95, SAYS THE VATICAN
Benedict is considered one of the greatest theologians of the 20th century and spent his life defending the doctrine of the church. However, his singular and revolutionary act of withdrawing from the papacy, becoming the first pope to do so in six centuries, put him in the history books.
Benedict XVI’s retirement lasted almost 10 years and paved the way for the papacy to assess how a retired pope should live alongside a reigning one, as the situation was unprecedented.
In his remarks, Francis praised Benedict’s courage in stepping aside, saying he “opened the door” to allow future popes to do the same. The reigning pontiff previously shared that he also left written instructions outlining the conditions of his resignation.
POPE BENEDICT’S VISION ON CATHOLICISM, VATICAN II AND THE FUTURE OF THE CHURCH ENDURES THROUGH HIS TEACHINGS
Pope Francis stands next to the coffin of the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in Saint Peter’s Square during a funeral mass at the Vatican, Thursday, January 5, 2023.
(AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Authorities estimated that some 100,000 people would attend Benedict XVI’s funeral, Italian media reported. Some 200,000 people paid their respects during public viewings from Monday to Wednesday, the Vatican said.
Matteo Colonna, a 20-year-old seminarian from Teramo, Italy, said the funeral had a personal resonance for him.
“The first spark of my vocation began under Benedict’s pontificate, but then it got even stronger under Pope Francis,” Colonna said, sitting in prayer in St. Peter’s Square before mass. “I see a continuity between these two popes and the fact that today Francis is celebrating the funeral in memory of Benedict XVI is a historic event.”
THE LAST WORDS OF POPE BENEDICT, ACCORDING TO HIS NURSE
Early Thursday, the Vatican released the official history of Benedict’s life, a short Latin document that was also placed in a metal cylinder in his coffin. Coins and medallions minted during his papacy and his canopy stoles were also placed in the coffin.
The document highlights the historic resignation of Benedict XVI, which he announced on February 11, 2013.
A guard stands as fog covers the Dome of St. Peter’s Basilica in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican ahead of the funeral mass for the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Thursday, January 5, 2023.
(AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Holy Communion vessels are filled before the funeral Mass for the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Thursday, January 5, 2023. Benedict died at age 95 on December 31 at the monastery on the Vatican grounds where he had spent most of his decade in retirement.
(AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
As cardinal and pope, he passed sweeping church laws and oversaw controversial revelations of abuse within the church by hundreds of his clergy. Survivors still blamed the former pope for the crisis.
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The last coffin of Benedict XVI will be placed in the crypt in the grottos below St. Peter’s Basilica, also the resting place of St. John Paul II, before it is moved upstairs.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
