BENEDICT XVI. The funeral ceremony of Pope Benedict XVI is organized this Thursday, January 5 in Saint Peter’s Square. Presided over by the incumbent pope, the celebrations are unprecedented. The funeral live.
The essential
- The funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI takes place this morning of Thursday, January 5, 2023 in front of the Basilica in St. Peter’s Square, in the Vatican. The ceremony is presided over by an incumbent pope for the first time in the history of Catholicism.
- Tens of thousands of faithful Catholics gathered in Saint Peter’s Square to meditate one last time with Pope Benedict XVI. More than 4,000 priests and hundreds of religious leaders are present.
- Follow the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI live.
Live
10:39 – Rite of communion for the faithful and the men of the Church
Religious chants echo throughout the Vatican followed by long minutes of silence as the rite of communion is underway for the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
10:24 – Eucharistic prayer led by the senior cardinal
For many minutes, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, has led the ceremony and the Eucharist. These prayers and this rite translate the change of wine into blood of Christ and of the host into his body, according to the Catholic faith. This ceremony celebrates both the last supper and the sacrifice of Christ.
10:14 – 50,000 faithful present at the funeral of Benedict XVI
According to the first official estimates, 50,000 faithful came to attend the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI in St. Peter’s Square.
10:07 – Thousands of priests, bishops and cardinals present at the funeral of Benedict XVI
Many bishops and cardinals attend the funeral ceremony but they are there in a personal capacity, Pope Benedict XVI not having died while in office. All these men of the Church, 4000 priests, wear the color red. They are accompanied by a choir composed of 250 voices.
10:03 – “Benedict, may your joy be perfect on hearing his Voice”
“Benedict, dear Friend of the Spouse, may your joy be perfect in hearing his Voice, definitively and forever”. These were the last words of the homily. Particularity of this homily, Pope Benedict was never mentioned by name except at the very end of the text, but many laudatory allusions were made to the sovereign pontiff and punctuated the tribute.
09:59 – Pope Francis delivers the homily
It is to Pope Francis that the floor returns for the reading of the homily dedicated to Pope Benedict XVI. A tribute to the life and services rendered to the Church by the pope emeritus punctuated with quotations from holy texts. Pope Francis introduced his speech with these words: “‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit’ (Lk 23:46). These are the last words that the Lord spoke on the cross; his last breath – could- say -, which confirms what characterized his whole life: a permanent surrender of himself into the hands of his Father”.
09:52 – Benedict XVI’s funeral prayers chosen by Pope Francis
Given Benedict XVI’s resignation from his pontifical office in 2013, the pope emeritus is not celebrated as a sitting pope and as a result the prayers normally scheduled for pontifical funerals “have been remodelled”, Vatican says . Other texts could not be read and were replaced by readings from the Gospels chosen by the care of Pope Francis, currently in office.
09:48 – The first readings were made in St. Peter’s Square
The first readings of Benedict XVI’s funeral were recited. In order, the faithful listened to Psalm 22 from the book of Isaiah, Psalm 22, an extract from the First Letter of Saint Peter and a passage from the Gospel of Saint Luke.
09:46 – The funeral of Benedict XVI presided over by the pope in office, a first
Pope Francis, sovereign pontiff in office presides over the funeral of his predecessor Benedict XVI. This is a first in the history of the Vatican because before Benoit XVI, all the popes died while carrying out their pontifical function. However, the ceremony is led by the dean of the college of cardinals, Monsignor Giovanni Battista Re.
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Five days after his death on Saturday, December 31, 2022, and after his remains have been on display in St. Peter’s Basilica, in the Vatican, since Monday, before being placed in a cypress coffin, as tradition dictates. , late Wednesday afternoon, Benedict XVI will be buried this Thursday, January 5. Exceptionally and not least, it is Pope Francis himself who will preside over the burial of Benedict XVI. In detail, at 8:50 a.m., the coffin must be brought to St. Peter’s Square in order “to allow the faithful to pray the rosary on the coffin of the pope emeritus”, specifies the Vatican. At 9:30 a.m., the ceremony presided over by Pope Francis will begin.
Note that “the prayers [ont toutes dû être] remodeled”, Benedict XVI was no longer in office at the time of his death. As a result, certain texts, normally present for the funeral of a pope, will be absent. According to La Croix, the penitential act then the Kyrie are to open the ceremony.Four acts will then follow: a passage from the book of Isaiah, Psalm 22, then an extract from the First Letter of Saint Peter, as well as a passage from the Gospel of Saint Luke. Pope Francis will deliver the homily. The mass booklet published by the Vatican can be found here to follow the ceremony in detail. The dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, who will still be in charge of the celebration of the ceremony , even if it will be presided over by Pope Francis, should deliver the final farewell speech which will close the ceremony of this funeral which is intended to be “solemn, but sober”.
The coffin of former Pope Benedict XVI will then be taken to the Vatican Grottoes, located under St. Peter’s Basilica. A priori, the cameras should not be invited, but BFM TV reports that the cypress coffin will then, as tradition dictates, be placed in a lead coffin and then in a third oak coffin. Ex-Pope Benedict XVI is set to be laid to rest where John Paul II was originally buried, before it was moved in 2011.
The unprecedented presence of a pope in office at the funeral of a sovereign pontiff is exceptional, before the renunciation of Benedict XVI all the popes had fulfilled their functions until their last breath. But alongside Pope Francis, many distinguished guests are expected, including many political leaders and of course leaders from the Catholic world. Vatican News reports that more than 120 cardinals, 400 bishops and 4,000 priests are expected to attend. The French government will also be present at the funeral of Benedict XVI with the arrival of Gérald Darmanin, Minister of the Interior and Worship, at the Vatican. Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the German President are also due to attend the ceremony. Of course an Italian delegation led by President Sergio Mattarella must be there like many European crowned heads.
Born on April 16, 1927 in Marktl in Bavaria to parents fundamentally opposed to Nazism, he joined the Hitler Youth by force in 1941. He thus refused to join the Waffen SS in 1944, and expressed his desire to join the seminary. He was assigned to the Wehrmacht that same year, and deserted shortly before the German surrender. It will be worth to him to be interned during six weeks in a camp of prisoners of war with Aibling. Once released, he began his training as a priest and was ordained on June 29, 1951 by Cardinal von Faulhaber. In 1977, he was appointed cardinal priest of Santa Maria Consolatrice al Tiburtino by Pope Paul VI. A theologian recognized by his peers, he was appointed prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, president of the International Theological Commission and of the Pontifical Biblical Commission by Pope John Paul II in 1981.
Joseph Ratzinger continued his ascent and became cardinal-bishop in 1993. He entered the College of Cardinals and became its dean in 2002. On April 19, 2005, Cardinal Ratzinger was elected to succeed John Paul II, and became the first pope German since Victor II, in the 11th century. Known for its conservatism, the pontificate of Benedict XVI marked public opinion with certain positions. He is particularly opposed to the wearing of condoms, homosexuality or abortion. In his Regensburg speech in 2006, he provoked controversy by linking the Muslim religion to violence. But Benedict XVI also distinguished himself for his fight against anti-Semitism and pedophilia in his Church.
After a pontificate of almost eight years, Benedict XVI announced, on February 11, 2013, that he would resign from his functions, which was a first in the history of the Vatican. To justify his resignation, Pope Benedict evokes his fatigue and his vitality which are dwindling with the weight of his office and his many trips. Since the day of his official renunciation, February 28, 2013, he bears the title of “His Holiness Benedict XVI, Roman Pontiff Emeritus”. The pope emeritus has since lived in retirement in the Mater Ecclesiae monastery, located in the gardens of Vatican City. In March 2013, Argentinian Jorge Mario Bergoglio succeeded him under the name of Pope Francis. This new, more open pontificate contrasts considerably with that of Benedict XVI.