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VATICAN CITY – One of the most atypical chapters in modern Catholic history began on March 13, 2013, when a newly elected Pope Francis, appearing on the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica, said a prayer for his still-living predecessor, the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI.
It culminated on Saturday, almost a decade later, when Benedict died in a convent in the Vatican: Francis was the first to rush over to see the body, a spokesman for the Holy See told the Washington Post.
But the delicate dance between the two popes – one current, one former – is not over, at least not quite. For in the final act of an outwardly warm but often awkward relationship, Francis will be the one to frame the time of remembrance and mourning.
He will officiate Benedict’s funeral on Thursday.
What will Pope Benedict’s funeral look like? Pope Francis will preside.
This Precedent Week will be watched to see how fully Benedict is given the passages that would normally be granted to an incumbent pope. Early indications are that his funeral will be less pompous than the mass ceremony for John Paul II in 2005. In this case, the Vatican said only two formal delegations will attend, from Italy and Benedict’s native Germany. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the funeral would be “simple”.
Also crucial is how Francis – for the first time in his pontificate the only Vatican clad in white – will speak about his predecessor. So far he has only touched on Benedict’s death in the prayers on Saturday evening and Sunday and described it as “noble” and “kind”. Francis has otherwise proceeded as usual with the New Year celebrations of the Vatican. On Saturday, he waved to admiring supporters in his wheelchair as he was wheeled across St. Peter’s Square.
Marco Politi, a Francis biographer, predicted the pope would get by with “diplomacy” this week and look for ways to show the commonalities between himself and Benedict.
“This is a way for him to neutralize the enemies of his papacy,” Politi said.
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Politi said that in the church “there is a sense of relief because this silent opposition between two figures and two visions of the church is now over.”
Benedict broke the centuries-old tradition in which popes served until death, and the need to live with his predecessor was a crucial aspect of Francis’ tenure, coinciding with a period of growing polarization within the faith.
For traditionalists, Benedict became a symbol of opposition. Conservative figures in the church would seek audiences with him. Far-right politicians would cite him – or John Paul II – instead of Francis.
The intrigues over their relationship were so intense that they even inspired a film, The Two Popes, which imagined the two verbally arguing and eventually enjoying each other in a time before Benedict’s abdication.
In real life, Benedict showed respect for Francis and said there was only one authority figure at the top. Francis, in turn, regularly praised Benedict’s spirit and “intellectual insight.” After ceremonies introducing new cardinals, Francis routinely led them to greet Benedict, who lived in a monastery behind St. Peter’s Basilica.
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But having a retired pope — especially one who lived so close to Francis and chose to continue to dress in white — proved tricky at times. Benedict did not quite live up to his promise to remain “hidden from the world,” causing maelstroms by meddling in church affairs.
In 2019 he wrote a lengthy letter on sexual abuse, in which he linked some of the church’s problems to the sexual revolution of the 1960s, a diagnosis that contradicted Francis’ own theories as to the causes.
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A year later, Benedict offered a defense of clerical celibacy just as Francis was considering a move to allow the ordination of married men in the Amazon to fill a dire shortage of priests. Benedict later said there was a “misunderstanding” with the co-author of the book in which his remarks appeared. Some church observers speculated that the ex-Pope risked being manipulated as he grew increasingly frail.
Often Benedict and Francis were not that far apart; for example, both of them upheld the church’s teaching on sex. But their philosophical differences were so marked that they seemed to represent opposite poles. Benedict’s focus as pope was on upholding the eternal teachings of the faith, even if that meant a smaller church of fervent believers. Francis, on the other hand, has traveled to countries with little Catholic presence, emphasizing dialogue with Islam and tackling issues such as climate change and migration – areas traditionalists say have little to do with the faith.
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While popes are always compared to their predecessors, having two living men of experience as the religion’s supreme moral and spiritual authority was entirely new.
Also in St. Peter’s Square on Saturday, in the hours after Benedict’s death, people spoke of him in contrast to Francis.
Andrea Versace, 23, who was visiting Rome from the northern Veneto region, described Benedict as “cold and distant”, in contrast to Francis, whom she sees as “more humble”.
Benedict’s death will have far-reaching effects on Francis. Some church observers hope he will establish formal rules guiding a future pope’s retirement – possibly asking him to live outside the Vatican and revert to his first name. In Pope Benedict’s lifetime it would have been difficult to establish such rules.
Francis has said in past interviews he sees Benedict’s resignation as a precedent – something he would also consider should his health begin to falter. At the moment Francis has knee pain and has trouble walking. But he has a busy schedule.
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For his part, Francis has said that if he resigned, he would be known as Bishop Emeritus of Rome. He said he “certainly will not” remain in the Vatican.
In an interview with two Mexican journalists last year, Francis said that the first experience with an incumbent pope and an ex-pope “went quite well” because Benedict “was a holy and discreet man and knew how to do it well.” ”
“But for the future,” Francis said, “it’s appropriate to explain things better.”