Former Pope Benedict’s body to be displayed at the Vatican on January 1, 2023 (Portal)
That first pictures of Benedict XVI published this Sunday by the Holy See show it lying in a room of the Mater Ecclesiae monastery of the Vaticanwhere he has lived since he retired in 2013. He is lying on two pillows, under a large crucifix and next to a lit candle, a Christmas tree and a Bethlehem portal.
He wears the papal paraments: the white cassock and the red chasuble, in his hands a rosary and on his head a miter. However, in these photos he is not wearing a palliumthe white wool stole with black crosses liturgical symbol of jurisdiction.
his predecessor, John Paul IIhe wore it in his burial chapel in 2005. The canopy together with the so-called The Fisherman’s Ringsymbolizes the papal power and are received by the popes after their election at the mass at the beginning of the Magisterium.
That The body of Benedict XVI. will be transferred to St. Peter’s Basilica on Monday morningwhere the public can pay their respects for three days before a funeral supervised by Pope Francis on Thursday.
The Burning Chapel will open tomorrow Monday at the Vatican Basilica
That Pope Francisco was the first to discover the body of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. visited in the monastery.
After the death, at 9:34 a.m. (8:34 GMT), the personal secretary of the German Pope, Monsignor Georg Ganswein called Francis to confirm his deathaccording to the Vatican spokesman today, Matteo Bruni.
Francisco arrived about ten minutes later and guarded the body of his predecessor Ratzinger until 10:00 a.m. local time. (9.00 GMT) when he had to leave for other commitments.
It was the Argentine Pope himself who, on Wednesday December 28th, publicly announced the serious health condition of Benedict XVI. confirmed at the age of 95.
Yes OK he did not administer the sacrament of last rites to her, but Monsignor Ganswein, his closest collaborator in recent decades, the same Wednesday after a mass celebrated in his room.
Pope Francis has publicly expressed his “gratitude” for the German pope and theologian and today asked the faithful for their prayers and visited and praised him several times during these almost ten years of living together, calling him a “wise grandfather” the Church.
The funeral will be presided over by Francisco in St. Peter’s Square, five days after his death on January 5.
The burning chapel will open tomorrow Monday at the Vatican Basilica and the faithful can say goodbye to him until Thursday, when Francisco will officiate his funeral in St. Peter’s Square before his burial in the crypt of the Temple.
When a pope dies, however, the burials and his succession are determined by the Apostolic Constitution This time the Vatican has to improvise because it is the first time in history that the funeral of a pope emeritus is celebrated without celebrations.
Typically, the death of the sovereign pope triggers the rapid convening of a conclave, bringing together cardinals from around the world to elect his successor.
The coffin of the Pope Emeritus is buried in the Vatican Grottoes
This case was ruled out this time because Francis has ruled since 2013 after he was ousted following the resignation of Benedict XVI. was elected Pope in 2013.
The announcement of Joseph Ratzinger’s death this Saturday morning after an ordeal of several days has no specific protocol, so some of the steps for a practicing pope would be followed.
It is the first time in modern history that a pope has presided over the funeral of his predecessor.
According to the Apostolic Constitution promulgated in 1996 John Paul IIa pope must be buried four to six days after his death, which was respected.
The funeral will be presided over by Francis on January 5 in St. Peter’s Squarefive days after his death.
The ceremony begins at 08:30 GMT, it will be unprecedented and solemn as announced by the Vatican.
With this act ends the saga of the “two popes”, the two dressed in white who have been living together in the smallest country in the world for almost a decade.
The ceremony will be “solemn but sober,” said the head of the Holy See’s press office, Matteo Bruni.
The Vatican also announced thisThe body of Benedict XVI. is on display in St. Peter’s Basilica from Monday to Wednesdayso that believers from all over the world can pay homage to him.
For the time being, his body remains in the Mater Ecclesiae monastery, where he has resided since his resignation in the Vatican.
“No official visits are planned,” the Vatican said.
In 2005, the body of John Paul II, the last deceased Pope, was put on display at the Vatican to receive the homage of numerous leaders and believers who stood in long queues for hours.
The official ceremony was then presided over by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the powerful head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith who was later elected to the throne of Saint Peter.
A million people attended the funeral of the charismatic Polish Pope. Although the popularity of Benedict XVI. Never equaling that of John Paul II, the German Pope, who reigned from 2005 to 2013, was a head of state and as such, high dignitaries and faithful will pay tribute to him.
At the end of the funeral, which all believers can attend without a ticket, The coffin of the Pope Emeritus is buried in the Vatican GrottoesThe Vatican said in a statement where the tombs of the popes are located.
The Vatican did not specify whether it was the tomb of his predecessor John Paul II, which was empty after his coffin was transferred to a chapel in the basilica after his beatification in 2011.
The official biographer of Benedict XVI. announced in 2020 that he wanted to be buried in the tomb of John Paul II, with whom he worked closely.
When a pope dies, his papal ring, a ring specially made for each new pope and used to seal his documents, is also destroyed.
Benedict XVI’s Ring was crossed out with an “X” after his resignation and became unusable.
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