Pope Francis to lead ex-pontiff Benedict's funeral
Last updated on: 05 January,2023 08:39 am
An estimated 195,000 people have already paid their respects
VATICAN CITY (AFP) – Pope Francis will preside Thursday over the funeral of his predecessor Benedict XVI at the Vatican, an unprecedented event in modern times expected to draw tens of thousands of people.
Almost a decade after Benedict became the first pontiff in six centuries to resign, his successor will lead a requiem mass in the vast St Peter’s Square before his body is laid in the papal tombs beneath St Peter’s Basilica.
The German emeritus pope was no longer a head of state but world leaders including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will attend the funeral, alongside European royals and 3,700 priests, according to the Vatican.
Benedict, born Joseph Ratzinger, died on Saturday aged 95, bringing an end to an unprecedented situation of having two "men in white" -- he and Francis -- living in the Vatican.
An estimated 195,000 people have already paid their respects during three days of lying in state at the basilica, the Vatican said, Benedict’s body in red papal robes laid out in front of the altar.
Benedict will then be interred in John Paul II’s former tomb in the Vatican Grottoes, a crypt underneath the basilica holding more than 90 tombs of popes.
His predecessor’s body was moved into the main part of the basilica on the event of his beatification in 2011. John Paul II was made a saint in 2014.
Portugal has declared a national day of mourning on Thursday, while in Italy, flags will be flown at half-mast on public buildings.
In Germany, church bells will ring out at 11:00 am in memory of the first German pope in 1,000 years.