In his final years, Pope Benedict XVI expressed a desire to be “hidden from the world,” despite holding one of the highest-profile positions in the world. Even though his body had been on display for three days this week, his funeral on Thursday will still honor some of his wishes for simplicity and include some of the pomp that would be appropriate for a leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
Some rites will be performed away from the public’s view. In front of tens of thousands of people, including national leaders and members of various royal families, there will be additional traditions-laden ceremonies in St. Peter’s Square.
On December 31, at the age of 95, Benedict passed away in the monastery on Vatican grounds, where he had lived for nearly a decade in retirement and spent most of his time praying and reflecting. The Catholic Church will use a variety of rituals to say goodbye to its 265th pontiff, some traditional and some updated for the modern era.
The formal farewell given by the Vatican in particular.
Which urns will be utilized?
Benedict’s body would be moved into a cypress-wooden coffin on Wednesday evening, after the last visitors had left St. Peter’s Basilica, where it had been displayed. This would be a private event.
According to the Vatican, items associated with Benedict’s nearly eight-year papacy will be placed inside the coffin before the cover is attached. They include medallions and coins with his image from the Vatican that were minted during his time as papacy and distributed throughout euro dominions.
A rolled-up, inserted into a cylindrical tube, and then placed inside the coffin is a one-page written account of his papacy known in Italian as a “rogito,” which means “official deed.”
The palliums, renowned symbols of Benedict’s clerical career, will also be buried with him. It is a powerful representation of popes, who are also the bishop of Rome and, as such, pastors of the flock of Catholic faithful. It is a slender stole made from lambswool by nuns at a cloister in Rome.
Incorporating a pallium into his papal emblem was Benedict. Archbishops and cardinals also receive the stole. In his career, Benedict was archbishop of Munich in his native Germany. In 1977, St. Pope Paul VI made him a cardinal.
After the service, the Benedict coffin is taken down to the grottoes beneath the main floor and returned to the basilica. The zinc coffin will be placed inside the cypress coffin there, close to the underground crypt he selected as his final resting place. A third oak coffin will be placed inside of that one as well.
What will happen at the funeral?
When it is removed from the basilica on Thursday at approximately 8.45 a.m. (07:45 GMT), the coffin will once again be visible to the public. The rosary has been requested to be recited aloud by the 60,000 or so Catholics who are expected to gather in St. Peter’s Square. The funeral will be led by Pope Francis, who will stand in front of a covered altar and give the homily and important invocations.
However, Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, will perform the altarside Mass. Francis will take charge of the last rites at Benedict’s funeral. The formal farewell, known in Latin as Ultima Commendatio et Valedictio, is recited, and the body is sprinkled with incense and blessed water.
The majority of the Mass’s liturgy is similar to that used at pontiffs’ funerals. One notable exception will occur: Past funerals, like John Paul’s in 2005, included special “suppliche,” or prayerful prayers, that included a long list of saints’ names to honor the pontiff’s position as head of the Eastern rite churches and bishop of Rome.
However, due to Benedict’s prior retirement from the papacy, no such pleas will be heard throughout the square.
Where will Benedict rest at the end of his life?
The place where John Paul’s tomb once stood is where Benedict’s remains will be placed. For John Paul’s beatification in 2011, during Benedict XVI’s pontificate, his remains were moved upstairs from the grottoes into the main basilica. In 2014, Pope Francis made the Polish pontiff a saint.
