Benedict XVI’s burial chapel in the Basilica of St. Peter was opened for the second day this Tuesday. Wednesday is the last day on which the body of the Pope Emeritus is displayed. His funeral will take place on Thursday, a ceremony that will not have a state character as the late Pope has been retired. However, official delegations from Italy and Ratzinger’s native Germany will attend the ceremony. And it will bring together a large number of presidents, monarchs and political representatives from different countries. The Queen Emeritus of Spain, Sofía, and the Spanish Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños, as well as the Polish President, Andrzej Duda, have confirmed their attendance; the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa; Hungarian President Katalin Novák; Y King Philip of Belgium.
The second day passed in the morning with a queue of thousands of believers and tourists waiting to enter the basilica (10:00 p.m. to 12:00 p.m.). One of the first international leaders to come forward to pay tribute to Ratzinger – whose remains lie on a catafalque of golden cloth at the foot of the confessional altar and Bernini’s canopy – was ultra-conservative Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The politician, far removed from Francisco’s line and decidedly closer to his predecessor, immediately made this closeness clear with his visit.
General view of the burial chapel of Benedict XVI. in the nave of St. Peter’s Basilica. VATICAN MEDIA (EFE)
Hundreds of people have been queuing since half past five this morning to enter the temple and pay tribute to Ratzinger.Alessandra Tarantino (AP)
The body of the Pope Emeritus lies in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on Monday. GUGLIELMO MANGIAPANE (Portal)
Authorities expect around 35,000 people will pass through the burning chapel on each of the three days it remains open. VATICAN MEDIA (EFE)
Queue of the faithful in the Basilica of San Pedro.GUGLIELMO MANGIAPANE (Portal)
Detail of the hands of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, this Monday DPA via Europa Press (DPA via Europa Press)
In St. Peter’s Basilica, the faithful bid farewell to Joseph Ratzinger. VATICAN MEDIA (EFE)
Several nuns are waiting in St. Peter’s Square to pay homage to the Pope Emeritus. GUGLIELMO MANGIAPANE (Portal)
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (third from left) visited the funeral chapel of the Pope Emeritus on Monday. VATICAN MEDIA (via Portal)
Interior of St. Peter’s Basilica, on the first day of the funeral chapel of Pope Benedict XVI. VATICAN MEDIA (EFE)
Several believers pay homage to the Pope Emeritus in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.KAI PFAFFENBACH (Portal)
Queuing to access the Basilica of San Pedro. Andrew Medichini (AP)
The body of the late Benedict XVI. is in the central nave of St. Peter’s Basilica for public viewing. Alessandra Tarantino (AP)
Interior of St. Peter’s Basilica during the funeral chapel this Monday HANDOUT (AFP)
Dozens of believers are waiting to see the remains of the Pope Emeritus.TIZIANA FABI (AFP)
General view of the burning chapel in the central nave of the basilica.Andrew Medichini (AP)
Benedict XVI was dressed in papal red but without the pallium: the jewel worn around the neck that signifies the power exercised at the time of his death. The absence of this piece indicates that the German was precisely retired.TIZIANA FABI (AFP)
A nun feeds a pigeon while waiting to say goodbye to the Pope Emeritus. CIRO DE LUCA (Portal)
Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Benedict XVI’s personal secretary, kisses his hand in the mourning chapel set up in St. Peter’s Basilica. VATICAN MEDIA (EFE)
The remains of Joseph Ratzinger will be transferred to St. Peter’s Basilica at dawn this Monday from the Mater Ecclesiae monastery, where the Pope Emeritus has resided since his resignation in February 2013. VATICAN MEDIA HANDBOOK (EFE)
Dozens of people are waiting to enter St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican this Monday. Michael Kappeler (European Press)
The pope emeritus is veiled in the chapel of the Mater Ecclessiae prior to his transfer to the basilica in a picture distributed by the Vatican this Monday.
Meanwhile, the Vatican is preparing Thursday’s funeral, which will be presided over by Francis (it’s unprecedented for a pope to celebrate another pope’s funeral), the script of which has already been released. The question now is whether Bergoglio’s mobility problems will force him to concelebrate a demanding liturgy with the Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista, despite the fact that he will preside at the rite.
The liturgy that will be followed during the burial, despite the fact that Benedict XVI. wrote that he wanted something simple and sober, “based on a pope’s reference,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said. “There will be some that won’t be done because they are typical of an incumbent pope, like the final appointment, which are very specific to the active pope. But also some new ones to give the rite its original component,” he stressed. All the Cardinals of the College are invited.
Bruni also stated that Benedict XVI. is buried with the medals and coins minted during his pontificate, the palliums used as bishop and a text describing the pope’s pontificate. It is also known that the coffin in sight will be a triple box: cypress (during the burial) and zinc and oak (at the grave). On Wednesday afternoon the coffin is closed with a special rite. On the day of the funeral, he will leave the basilica around 8:50 a.m. to allow the faithful to pray the rosary. Then the liturgy begins and at the end the body is taken to the crypt for burial. The end of the entire rite is expected to arrive around 11:15 a.m.
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The last day of the funeral chapel will be Wednesday morning while Francis will hold the general audience in the nearby Paul VI Hall, as none of the Argentine Pope’s activities have been cancelled.
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