DILI, 03 January 2023 (TATOLI)- Thousands of people bid farewell and pay respects to the body of Benedict XVI in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was scheduled to be laid to rest on january 5, 2023 at St. Peter Basilica.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s remains have been moved to St. Peter’s Basilica, where they will lie in state for three days to allow the faithful to pray and pay their last respects to the former archpope.
The remains of the Pope Emeritus resting before the Altar of Confession are dressed in the traditional red liturgical vestment with a miter, but without the pallium (the pallium is a symbol of jurisdiction not generally used for retired prelates). A simple rosary was held in her intertwined fingers.
On monday morning, the Pope Emeritus’ body was transferred from the Abbey chapel to the Basilica in a private ceremony, presided over by Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, who holds the title Archpriest of St. Peter’s. The short ceremony lasted approximately half an hour.
“Long queues of faithful and other sympathizers formed Monday morning before the spectacle officially began at 9 am Rome time,” said the official Vatican News website.
The exposition of the remains will continue through Wednesday, with the Basilica open to the faithful from 9 am to 7 pm on Mondays, and from 7 am to 7 pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
On Thursday, Pope Francis will become the first pope in modern history to preside as pope at the funeral of his predecessor. A Requiem Mass is scheduled to occur Thursday morning in St. Peter’s Square, starting at 9:30 am Rome time.
Benedict XVI will then be buried, as he requested, in the Grotto beneath the Basilica, in the tomb where St John Paul II was buried prior to his beatification.
In accordance with the wishes of the late Pope Emeritus, the funeral and the accompanying rites and ceremonies will be marked by the same simplicity that characterizes the life of this “humble servant in the Lord’s vineyard”.
Vatican police said 40,000 people filed past this body in the first five hours.
Related News:https://en.tatoli.tl/2022/12/31/former-pope-benedict-xvi-dies-at-age-95-in-the-vatican/11/
Journalist: José Belarmino De Sá
Editor: Nelia B.
