Thousands view former Pope Benedict XVI lying in state

Body of late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI lying in state

By GIADA ZAMPANO and FRANCES D’EMILIO

Associated Press

Jan. 2, 2023 Updated 5:27 PM PT

VATICAN CITY —

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s body, his head resting on a pair of crimson pillows, lay in state in St. Peter’s Basilica on Monday as tens of thousands of people filed by to pay tribute to the pontiff who shocked the world by retiring a decade ago.

On the eve of the first of three days of viewing, Italian security officials had said at least 25,000 to 30,000 people would come Monday. But by the end of the first day’s viewing, some 65,000 had passed by the bier, the Vatican said.

As daylight broke, 10 white-gloved papal gentlemen — lay assistants to pontiffs and papal households — carried the body on a cloth-covered wooden stretcher after its arrival at the basilica to its resting place in front of the main altar under Bernini’s towering bronze canopy.

A Swiss Guard saluted as the body was brought in via a side door after Benedict’s remains, placed in a van, had been transferred from the chapel of the monastery grounds where the increasingly frail, 95-year-old former pontiff died Saturday morning.

His longtime secretary, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, and a handful of consecrated laywomen who served in Benedict’s household followed the van by foot in a silent procession toward the basilica. Some of the women stretched out a hand to touch the body in respect.

Before the rank-and-file faithful were allowed into the basilica, prayers were recited, and the basilica’s archpriest, Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, sprinkled holy water over the body, and a small cloud of incense was released near the bier. Benedict’s hands were clasped, a rosary around his fingers.

Benedict’s body was dressed with a miter, the peaked headgear of a bishop, and a red cloak.

Just after 9 a.m., the doors of the basilica swung open so that the public, some who had waited for hours in the dampness before dawn, could pay their respects to the late pontiff, who retired from the papacy in 2013 to become the first pope to do so in 600 years.

The public strode briskly up the center aisle to pass by the bier after waiting in a line that, by mid-morning, snaked around St. Peter’s Square.

Filippo Tuccio, 35, came from Venice on an overnight train to view Benedict’s body.

“I wanted to pay homage to Benedict because he had a key role in my life and my education. I arrived here at around 7:30 after leaving Venice last night,” Tuccio said.

“When I was young, I participated in World Youth Days,’’ said Tuccio, referring to the jamborees of young faithful held periodically and attended by pontiffs. Tuccio added that he had studied theology, and Benedict’s pontificate “accompanied me during my university years.”

“He was very important for me: for what I am, my way of thinking, my values. This is why I wanted to say goodbye today.”

Among those coming to the basilica viewing was Cardinal Walter Kasper, like Benedict a German theologian. Kasper served as head of the Vatican’s Christian unity office during Benedict’s papacy.

Benedict left an “important mark” on theology and spirituality, but also on the history of the papacy with his courage to step aside, Kasper told the Associated Press.

“This resignation wasn’t a sign of weakness but a sign of strength, a greatness because he saw that he was no longer up to the challenges of being pope,” Kasper said.

Kasper, who was among the cardinals who elected Benedict to the papacy in 2005, added that the resignation decision gave “a more human vision to the papacy: that the pope is a man and is dependent on his physical and mental strengths.”

Public viewing was set for 10 hours Monday, and 12 hours each on Tuesday and Wednesday before Thursday morning’s funeral, which will be led by Pope Francis, at St. Peter’s Square.

As Benedict desired, the funeral will be marked by simplicity, the Vatican said when announcing the death Saturday.

Workers on Monday were setting up an altar in the square for the funeral Mass. Also being arranged were rows of chairs for the faithful who want to attend the funeral. Authorities said they expected about 60,000 to come for the Mass.

On Monday, the Vatican confirmed widely reported burial plans. In keeping with his wishes, Benedict’s tomb will be placed in the crypt of the grotto under the basilica. The grotto was last used for St. John Paul II’s body, which was moved upstairs into the main basilica before his 2011 beatification, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said.

At two sides of the piazza’s colonnade, viewers went through the usual security measures required for tourists entering the basilica, passing through metal detectors and having their bags screened through an X-ray machine.

Marina Ferrante, 62, was among them.

“I think his main legacy was teaching us how to be free,” she said. “He had a special intelligence in saying what was essential in his faith, and that was contagious” for other faithful. “The thing I thought when he died was that I would like to be as free as he was.”

While venturing that the shy, bookworm German churchman and theologian and the current Argentine-born pontiff had different temperaments, “I believe there’s a continuity between him and Pope Francis, and whoever understands the real relationship between them and Christ can see that,” Ferrante said.

An American man who lives in Rome called the opportunity to view the body “an amazing experience.” Mountain Butorac, 47, who is originally from Atlanta, said he arrived 90 minutes before the dawn opening.

“I loved Benedict, I loved him as a cardinal, when he was elected pope and also after he retired,” Butorac said. “I think he was a sort of people’s grandfather living in the Vatican.”

With an organ and choir’s soft rendition of “Kyrie Eleison” (“Lord, have mercy” in Latin) in the background, ushers moved well-wishers along at a steady clip down the basilica’s center aisle. Someone left a red rose.

A few VIPs had a moment before the general public to pay their respects, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the far-right leader who in the past has professed admiration for the conservative leanings of Benedict.

Also viewing the body was Italian President Sergio Mattarella. The Vatican has said only two nations’ official delegations — from Italy and from Benedict’s native Germany — were formally invited to the funeral, since the pope emeritus was no longer head of state.