Today thousands of faithful say goodbye to ex-Pope Benedict XVI in St. Peter’s Basilica. Walrus visit – animal-loving city cancels New Year’s fireworks

Two days after the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. his body will be laid out this Monday in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. From 9 a.m. people can line up to say goodbye to the former head of the Catholic Church. Born in Bavaria, he died on Saturday at his Vatican residence at the age of 95 and was then laid to rest in the domestic chapel of the Mater Ecclesiae monastery – in red papal robes and with a rosary in his hands.

In front of cameras, he will be taken from the monastery to the cathedral on Monday, where a private prayer is scheduled before the gates open. On Thursday, Benedict’s successor, Pope Francis, wants to hold a funeral service in St. Peter’s Square. Tens of thousands of visitors are expected. Then Benedict XVI. buried in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica – said to be in the tomb where the remains of John Paul II once lay until they were moved to another location in the basilica after his canonization.

During the New Year’s Eve and New Year celebrations, Pope Francis paid tribute to his predecessor as a “faithful servant” of the Church. Last Wednesday, during the general audience in the Vatican Audience Hall, Francis called for prayer for the gravely ill Papa Emeritus – drawing attention primarily to his ill health.

As it later became known, Benedict received the Anointing of the Sick on that December 28 – popularly known as the Last Anointing. According to the Vatican, his condition was worrying but stable afterwards. He finally died on New Year’s Eve, sparking widespread sympathy worldwide. His last words are said to have been “Lord, I love you,” as Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni and the Vatican media portal “Vatican News” later reported.

Shortly after Benedict’s death, Francis was the first to come to his residence and pray over his lifeless body. Later, cardinals and other church officials came to say goodbye to the former head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In recent years, after his voluntary resignation in 2013, the first by a pope in more than 700 years, Benedict has lived in seclusion in the cloister in the Vatican Gardens, cared for by his private secretary Georg Gänswein.

Relations between Benedict and his successor were considered respectful, if not easy. Joseph Ratzinger, as his real name was, was born in Upper Bavaria and was elected pope on April 19, 2005, succeeding John Paul II. He was the first German pope in over 480 years. After his death, clergy and politicians praised him as a clever theologian. However, critics complained about the conservative course during his time as head of the church – a parallel with his Polish predecessor John Paul II.

Benedict XVI opposed a modernization of the church, which earned him a lot of criticism. His tenure was overshadowed by the abuse scandal that plunged the Catholic Church into deep crisis. And even after his dismissal, the past and his handling of abuse cases caught up with him again. An abuse report commissioned by the Archdiocese of Munich in early 2022 accused him of misconduct in four cases during his time as Archbishop of Munich and Freising. Shortly after the report was published, Benedikt then had to correct a statement through his private secretary Gänswein.

It was Benedict, while Cardinal Ratzinger was still in office as prefect of the influential Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, who set the course for the prosecution of abuses in the Church. However, his more than 20-year tenure in the all-important Vatican authority was also marked by a strict stance on issues such as contraception, abortion and celibacy, which many believers, especially in Europe, rejected. In other parts of the world Catholic Church, for example in countries in Africa and Latin America, his line received wide support. (dpa/ch media)