The funeral of former Pope Benedict XVI brought together the leaders
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who died in the Vatican on December 31, was buried in the tomb chamber below St. Peter’s Basilica, where other former popes are buried, after a funeral ceremony held in St. Peter’s Square. .
The emeritus pope, who went down in history as the 265th pope in the history of the Catholic Church, was a German citizen who changed his real name Joseph Ratzinger to Benedict XVI after becoming pope, leaving the papacy 10 years ago due to to his illness. Benedict 16, who was the first pope to step down after nearly 600 years in church history, was sent to the Vatican with a simple funeral at his request, rather than an official state ceremony.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Prime Minister Olaf Scholz, Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Belgian King Felipe , former Queen Sofía of Spain, Colombian Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva Durán, including Mr.
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ATTENDED
120 cardinals, 400 bishops and 4,000 priests attended the funeral in San Pietro Square, where extensive security measures were taken, Vatican airspace was temporarily closed, about 1,000 journalists were accredited and about 65,000 people followed. After the funeral, which lasted about an hour and a half, the body of Benedict XVI was taken to the papal burial chamber in St. Peter’s Basilica.
16. Benedictine is reported to have been buried in the tomb containing the remains of former Pope John Paul II, who was canonized at his request and moved to another location within the basilica in May 2021.
It was reported that the wooden coffin containing the body of Benedict XVI, which was seen at the funeral, was later buried in two other Vatican-sealed wooden and zinc coffins, as well as the medals, coins and Latin text placed in a Metal cylinders describing his papacy were placed in the coffin.
Joseph Ratzinger, who served as the Vatican papacy from 2005 to 2013, made history as the first pope to resign in the modern history of the Catholic Church. Benedict XVI, who has an important place among Catholic clergy because of his theological studies, has also been overshadowed by scandals at the Vatican’s IOR bank, cases of covert sexual abuse within the church, and allegations of corruption and blackmail against gay bishops in the Vatican. known as the “Vatileaks scandal”. (AA)