Sunday, January 8, 2023 | 9:02 a.m.
The Vatican opened to tourists and faithful from all over the world the possibility of visiting the tomb of Benedict XVI, the pope emeritus between 2013 and December 31, 2022, when he died at the age of 95.
The tomb of Joseph Ratzinger, in one of the basements of St. Peter’s Basilica, was opened to visitors this Sunday at 9 in Rome (4 in Argentina), with a normal influx of public.
The body of Benedict XVI was deposited last Thursday in the tomb where his predecessor John Paul II had already been, after the funeral in his honor presided over by Pope Francis.
Inside the tomb, Ratzinger was buried in a triple coffin made of cypress, zinc and oak, in which he was placed together with a parchment in Latin with a summary of his pontificate and with the medals and coins minted by the Holy See during the time. who was acting Pope, from his election in April 2005 to his resignation in February 2013.
On the other hand, Pope Francis baptized 13 children in the Sistine Chapel, leading the traditional ceremony dedicated to the children of Vatican employees, during which he encouraged mothers to breastfeed them “in all freedom” in the place.
“Baptism is like a birthday, it makes us reborn in the Christian life,” said the pontiff during the ceremony this Sunday in the room painted by Michelangelo and which is also the place for the conclaves in which the Father.
In a relaxed atmosphere, Francisco also encouraged mothers to breastfeed their children inside the room framed by the work “Last Judgment” and asked them to let them cry without problems during the ceremony.
“Now they are all silent, but perhaps someone starts and since they are all symphonic they will follow: let them scream, let them cry. Perhaps someone cries from hunger: breastfeed them, freely,” Francisco said.
The chapel, which underwent several restorations throughout its more than 500 years, was built in 1484 for Pope Sixtus IV, to whom it owes its name, but it was Julius II who commissioned Michelangelo to decorate it, first with the Vault and then with “The Last Judgment”.
Source: Telam
