The funeral of Pope Benedict XVI, who died on December 31, is taking place this Thursday, January 5, 2023 in Saint Peter’s Square under the authority of his successor François. A new image that invites us to ask ourselves the question of the future of the papal function.
Tens of thousands of people are expected Thursday morning in St. Peter’s Square for the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. They will be presided over by his successor Francis, a first in the recent history of the Church. Ceremony – ” solemn but sober “, according to the Vatican should begin at 8:30 UT, in the presence of many heads of state and government.
The mass will more exactly be celebrated by the dean of the College of Cardinals because Pope Francis will be in a wheelchair because of his knee problems.
Then the coffin of Joseph Ratzinger, on which 195,000 faithful gathered in three days, will be transferred to the Vatican caves, under the basilica, where John Paul II and John XXIII were buried, before their beatification.
This funeral of Benedict XVI, which one of his biographers, Bernard Lecomte, called ” the last european pope », mark the end of an era. The question now is to know how the future will take shape for François.
It’s an unusual period that is coming to an end, since we will have had, for a few years, a pope in office on the see of Saint-Pierre, as they say, and a pope emeritus a few hundred meters away…
Bernard Lecomte, journalist, author in particular of “Benedict XVI, the last European pope”
► To read also: Death of Benedict XVI: the difficult pontificate of the first pope emeritus
The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, a precedent
The coexistence between the pope emeritus and his successor in office, both in white togas, had created a rather unprecedented situation. The possibility now opens for the Argentine Pope Francis, alias Jorge Bergoglio, to resign in turn.
Benedict XVI had paved the way with his resignation which was the first in 700 years, since that of Pope Celestine V, in 1294, showing that he was humane and fallible. This sovereign pontiff believed that the heavy task of leading the Catholic Church of Rome in the 21st century could not be exercised without having full physical and mental faculties.
Casually, Benedict XVI has completely disconnected the pontifical function of personality. He said, “Listen, I’m pope for what I’m pope, and besides, my name is Ratzinger and I’m Ratzinger, that’s it.” These are two different things and should not be confused. This paves the way for a resignation, in the years to come, of Pope Francis. Now he can resign.
Isabelle de Gaulmyn, editor-in-chief of the daily La Croix, former correspondent in Rome
Could Pope Francis in turn leave?
François left the door open to this possibility because he has already signed a letter of resignation in the event of a health problem. But it will not be for now: the Holy Father begins a trip at the end of January to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.
These two stops, the head of the Catholic Church had postponed them because of his health problems, last June. Francis will then travel to Portugal in August and is expected to complete the work of the Synod in 2024.
It will discuss the Vatican’s perspective on the ancestral and thorny question of the marriage of priests, but also the place of women and the governance of the Church.
►Read also: While waiting for the funeral of Benedict XVI, the last tributes of the faithful