(CNN Spanish) –– Benedict XVI, the pope emeritus who broke the 600-year tradition of not giving up his pontificate, died this Saturday at the age of 95 in Vatican City. During the last days, he went through a period of poor health.
In the midst of the mourning of the Catholic community, the details of his vigil and funeral have been revealed.
The body of Benedict XVI will be veiled from Monday, January 2 at 9:30 am local time, in St. Peter’s Basilica, according to the director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni.
“As of Monday morning, January 2, 2023, the body of the Pope Emeritus [Benedicto XVI] will be in St. Peter’s Basilica so that the faithful can say goodbye,” he wrote on the Vatican News Twitter account.
The funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI will take place on January 5, Bruni added.
The funeral ceremony will be presided over by Pope Francis.
Update from @HolySeePress Office: Pope Francis will preside over the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on January 5, 2023, at 9:30 CET in St. Peter’s Square. pic.twitter.com/5iDHyzVXcv
— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) December 31, 2022
According to the wish of the pope emeritus, his funeral will be “simple,” Bruni said.
In 2013, Pope Benedict XVI shocked the world by making the almost unprecedented decision to resign his position citing “advanced age.”
The last pope to resign before his death was Gregory XII, who resigned in 1415 to end a civil war within the Catholic Church in which more than one man claimed to be pope.
Pope Francis said on December 28 that his predecessor was “very ill” and asked for prayers for the 95-year-old former pope.
“I want to ask everyone for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict who supports the Church in his silence. He is very sick,” Francis said during his general audience at the Vatican.
“We ask the Lord to console him and sustain him in this testimony of love for the Church until the end.”
