The funeral of Benedict XVI will be celebrated Thursday, January 5 at 9:30 a.m. in the Vatican, the director of the press office of the Holy See announced on Saturday, December 31, shortly after announcing the death of the pope emeritus, which occurred in the morning at 9:34 a.m. .
The funeral of the pope emeritus will be presided over by the pope francis, St. Peter’s Square, the Vatican also said. The faithful will be able to meditate with the body of Francis’ predecessor, which will be exhibited in Saint Peter’s Basilica, from Monday January 2 until Wednesday January 4.
According to information from La Croix, Germany and Italy are the only two nations officially invited to the funeral. Leaders from other countries in the world will be welcome, but their status will be different. This is a big difference with the funeral of an incumbent pope, for which all heads of state and government are officially invited.
“Solemn but sober funeral”
“In accordance with the wishes of the pope emeritusthe funeral will take place under the sign of simplicity”, insisted the director of the Holy See Press Room, Matteo Bruni, who also spoke about “solemn but sober funeral”.
The death of Benedict XVI was announced Saturday, December 31 at 10:33 a.m. by the Vatican, less than an hour after the death of the pope emeritus, at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, where he had lived since his renunciation in 2013. He received the sacrament of the sick on Wednesday 28 December in the afternoon, while Pope Francis had asked, a few hours earlier, to make a “special prayer” for his predecessor, “very sick”.