When does the requiem begin?
Dhe coffin with Benedict’s body is carried to St. Peter’s Square at around 8.45 a.m. on Thursday morning and placed on a catafalque. The faithful have the opportunity to pray a rosary for the deceased before the requiem begins at around 9:30 am. It is broadcast on TV and radio.
It is led by Pope Francis, but he does not celebrate it himself because he can only walk a few meters with a walker and only stand for a short time due to his chronic knee problems. The celebrant of the Requiem is the Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals since 2020.
On April 8, 2005, Joseph Ratzinger celebrated the funeral mass for John Paul II.
Will the requiem and burial be like those of incumbent popes?
As the Vatican press office announced, the liturgy and ceremony for the burial of Benedict XVI. essentially those for the funeral of an incumbent pope. Only a few elements will differ from past papal funerals, especially the prayers of the Diocese of Rome and the Eastern Churches that refer to the death of an incumbent pope, so that they will be repeated at the funeral of Benedict XVI. not to be spoken.
Review in pictures
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A Bavarian in Rome
All prayers and readings have been adapted to the situation that a pope emeritus is being buried, while the grave goods correspond to those with which Benedict’s predecessors were also buried. These are the coins and medals from the years of his pontificate from 2005 to 2013, as well as the pallium and the so-called rogito, a text in which the pontificate is briefly described.
The Rogito will be enclosed with the coffin in a sealed metal cylinder. According to the Vatican, the text will be published after the burial ceremony. As usual, the ferula (cross-staff) is not part of the grave goods.
Who comes to the funeral mass?
Official delegations from Germany and Italy, as well as ecumenical delegations, will attend the funeral service in St. Peter’s Square. In addition to Metropolitans Emmanuel of Chalcedon and Polycarp of Italy for the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and Metropolitan Antony, responsible for external relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, the new moderator of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches, the Evangelical Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strom, will also be present.
Many other heads of state and personalities from politics and society have announced their attendance. More than 400 bishops and 4000 priests will concelebrate, a good 600 journalists from all over the world have been accredited for the funeral service.
Since after the death of Benedict XVI. Since no conclave is required to elect a new pope, significantly fewer cardinals will take part in the requiem for the pope emeritus this Thursday than in 2005 at the funeral mass for John Paul II them from Poland, the homeland of Karol Wojtyla. Around 200 heads of state and government and leading representatives of various religious communities, as well as 157 cardinals, 700 archbishops and around 6000 journalists attended the funeral ceremony for John Paul II.
Where is Benedict buried?
At the end of the requiem mass, Benedict XVI’s remains are buried. transferred to the crypt under St. Peter’s Basilica. After the viewing period ended on Wednesday, they were placed in a coffin made of cypress wood. According to a rite intended for papal burials, a band bearing the seals of the Chapter of Saint Peter, the Papal Household and the Office for Liturgical Celebrations is placed around the cypress coffin.
The coffin is then placed in a welded zinc coffin, which is then sealed. The zinc coffin is placed in an unadorned oak coffin, which is finally buried in the original tomb of Benedict’s predecessor, John Paul II, in the crypt under St. Peter’s Basilica. After his beatification in 2011, the mortal remains of John Paul II were brought to St. Peter’s Basilica, to the Saint Sebastian Chapel in the right aisle of the basilica, in the immediate vicinity of the Pietà Michelangelo.
The burial in the crypt is closed to the public. This also corresponds to the customs of earlier papal funerals. The inscription on Benedict’s grave is not yet known.
