Some 65,000 people have entered St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican to pay their last homage to Benedict XVI, whose mortal remains are located just in front of the monumental canopy, the work of Italian Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
The burning chapel of the emeritus pope Benedict XVI who died last Saturday at the age of 95, opened this Tuesday for the second day following 65,000 people were able to say their last goodbye to the pontiff this Monday and await the funeral to be held this Thursday.
Since the early hours of the morning, thousands of faithful have already been waiting at the gates of Saint Peter’s Square to be able to enter the Vatican Basilica to bid farewell to Joseph Ratzingerwho in 2013 was the first pontiff to resign in the last six centuries, and whose remains are on a golden cloth catafalque at the foot of the Altar of Confession and Bernini’s baldachin, on the place where according to tradition Saint Peter was buried.
A few minutes following 7:00 a.m. (3:00 a.m. in Chile) the doors of the Basilica of San Pedro opened and several hundred faithful who had been waiting for more than two hours were able to enter the funeral chapel that today will be open until 7:00 p.m. (3:00 p.m. GMT).
The last day of the funeral chapel will be tomorrow, while Francisco will hold the general audience in the nearby Paul VI hall, since none of the activities of the Argentine pontiff have been cancelled.
Meanwhile, the funeral is being prepared that will be presided over by Francisco in the unprecedented circumstance of a pope celebrating the obsequies of another pope. Although due to Jorge Bergoglio’s mobility problems it is likely that he will concelebrate with the Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re.
It will not be a state funeral, as it is not a “reigning” pontiff, although it will have official delegations from Italy and Ratzinger’s native Germany, and other authorities may attend but must do so in their personal capacity.
Nothing has yet been confirmed regarding the rite of the liturgy, which may have some variations due to the status of “emeritus” of Benedict XVI, but some sources say that Francis’ will is to pay homage to his predecessor with all the honors, as well that it is probable that, for example, the coffin with the remains of Joseph Ratzinger goes through the Door of Death, one of the five doors of the Basilica of San Pedro that is used for the coffins of the popes to pass through.
The emeritus queen of Spain, Sofía, and the Spanish Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños, as well as the Polish president, Andrzej Duda, have already confirmed their presence; the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and King Felipe of Belgium.
Afterwards, the body of Benedict XVI will be buried in the crypt of Saint Peter’s Basilica, where many other pontiffs from the thousand-year history of the Catholic Church rest.
The tomb chosen by himself has been the one that housed the remains of John Paul II, empty since his body was transferred to a chapel in Saint Peter’s Basilica on the occasion of his beatification in May 2011.
