Benedict XVI: Follow LIVE the funeral of the Pope emeritus in the Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican

The burning chapel of the emeritus pope Benedict XVIwho died last Saturday at the age of 95, opened today for the second day after 65,000 people were able to say their last goodbye to the pontiff this Monday and await the funeral to be held next Thursday.

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Since the early hours of the morning Thousands of faithful waited at the gates of Saint Peter’s Square to enter the Vatican Basilica to bid farewell to Joseph Ratzingerwho in 2013 was the first pontiff to resign in the last six centuries, and whose remains are on a golden cloth catafalque at the foot of the Altar of Confession and Bernini’s baldachin, on the place where according to tradition Saint Peter was buried.

SIGHT: Benedict XVI, with pontifical chasuble and without pallium in the first photographs after his death

A few minutes after 7:00 a.m. (6:00 GMT) the doors of Saint Peter’s Basilica opened and several hundred faithful who had been waiting for more than two hours were able to enter the funeral chapel that today will be open until 7:00 p.m. (6:00 p.m. GMT).

The last day of the burning chapel will be tomorrowwhile Francisco will hold the general audience in the nearby Paul VI hall, since none of the activities of the Argentine pontiff have been cancelled.

The body of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI lies in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, on January 3, 2023. (TIZIANA FABI / AFP).

while preparing the funeral that will be presided over by Francisco in the unprecedented circumstance of a Pope celebrating the obsequies of another Pope. Although due to the mobility problems of Jorge bergoglio It is likely that he will concelebrate with the Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re.

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It will not be a state funeral, as it is not a “reigning” pontiff, although it will have official delegations from Italy and Ratzinger’s native Germany, and other authorities may attend but must do so in their personal capacity.

Nothing has been confirmed yet about the rite of the liturgy, which may have some variations due to the status of “emeritus” of Benedict XVI, but some sources say that Francisco’s will is to pay homage to his predecessor with all the honors, so it is likely that, for example, the coffin with the remains of Joseph Ratzinger go through the Door of Death, one of the five doors of St. Peter’s Basilica that are used for the coffins of the pontiffs to pass through.

The emeritus queen of Spain, Sofía, and the Spanish Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños, as well as the Polish president, Andrzej Duda, have already confirmed their presence; the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and King Felipe of Belgium.

Then the body of Benedict XVI will be buried in the crypt of Saint Peter’s Basilica, where many other pontiffs from the thousand-year history of the Catholic Church rest.

The tomb chosen by himself has been the one that received the remains of John Paul II, Empty since his body was transferred to a chapel in Saint Peter’s Basilica for his beatification in May 2011.

Source: Elcomercio