Vatican City.- The Vatican released the first photos of the body of Benedict XVI, who died on Saturday at the age of 95 and was remembered once again this Sunday by his successor, Pope Francis.
In the images, the deceased can be seen lying on a catafalque, dressed in white with a red chasuble, the color of papal mourning, with a white miter trimmed with gold trim and an entwined rosary in his hands.
The catafalque is in the center of a small private chapel of the monastery where he had resided since his resignation in 2013, located in the middle of the Vatican gardens.
It is a particularly sober space, compared to the elegant halls of the apostolic palace, with a crucifix, a Christmas tree and a nativity scene.
A group of cardinals prayed this Sunday in front of the remains of Joseph Ratzinger, according to a photo published on social networks.
“Today we entrust to the Blessed Mother the beloved pope emeritus Benedict XVI to accompany him on his passage from this world to God,” Francis said during the solemn mass on the first of the year in St. Peter’s Basilica.
“We all unite together, with one heart and one soul, in giving thanks to God for the gift of this faithful servant of the Gospel and of the Church.”
“I want to attend the funeral, I think a lot of people will come from abroad,” Luca Scotti, a 58-year-old Roman from Rome, told AFP, present this Sunday along with some 40,000 faithful at the Angelus in Saint Peter’s Square.
The brilliant theologian and fervent guardian of dogma, who left his position in 2013 citing the decline of his forces, died on Saturday at the age of 95 after several days of agony in the monastery where he lived.
