On St. Peter’s Square in Rome, the Catholic Church bid farewell to the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. taken. The requiem was conducted by Benedict’s successor Francis on Thursday. Compared to the funeral mass for the “Pope of the Century” John Paul II in 2005, the crowd of believers was rather small. Benedict, whose real name is Joseph Ratzinger, died last Saturday at the Vatican at the age of 95.
The funeral mass for Benedict was new ceremonial territory for the Catholic Church, because with him a pope emeritus had died for the first time in centuries and therefore no successor had to be elected. The liturgy was slightly altered compared to a traditional funeral service for a pope. The requiem was held mostly in Latin, but the intercessions were spoken in several languages, including German.
Several thousand believers had gathered on the initially foggy square to pay their last respects to Benedict. A large delegation from his Bavarian homeland also celebrated the fair far ahead on St. Peter’s Square. These included mountain riflemen, people wearing traditional costumes, a brass band and the voluntary fire brigade from Pentling near Regensburg, where Joseph Ratzinger actually wanted to spend the rest of his life. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) and other top German politicians also came.
Around 130 cardinals from all over the world lined up in their robes on the square. Shortly before the beginning of the requiem, Benedict’s longtime confidant and private secretary, Georg Gänswein, bent over the coffin and kissed it. Other high German clergymen who celebrated the service were Munich Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Cologne Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki and the former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller.
Francis was wheeled into the square. In his sermon he made little direct reference to his predecessor. Above all, the Argentine spoke generally about devotion to God and trust in the Lord. Only at the very end did he say: “Benedict, you faithful friend of the bridegroom, may your joy be complete when you finally and forever hear his voice!” Jesus is often referred to as the bridegroom in the Catholic Church.
After the requiem, the simple wooden coffin containing Benedict’s body was brought to St. Peter’s Basilica, where Benedict was to be buried in the crypt in his final resting place. The public was excluded from this part of the funeral ceremonies. Before the coffin disappeared into St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis blessed it, touched it with his hand and bowed.