Vatican City.- Thousands of faithful got up early this Monday to parade before the body of Benedict XVI, in the funeral chapel installed in Saint Peter’s Basilica, in the Vatican, to bid farewell to the emeritus Pontiff, who died on Saturday at the age of 95.
The long line reached the immense Saint Peter’s Square and surrounded the famous columns of the esplanade, guarded by an important security device and also by hundreds of journalists from all over the world who had come to cover the Pope’s funeral.
“He was a great Pope, profound and unique,” said the Italian Francesca Gabrielli, who traveled from Tuscany to bid farewell to the emeritus pontiff.
The body of Joseph Ratzinger lies on a catafalque draped in gold cloth, surrounded by two regalia-clad Swiss Guards, in front of the Basilica’s main altar.
Several cardinals and members of the Roman Curia watch over the deceased, while the private secretary for years of the Pope Emeritus, Bishop Georg Gänswein, receives the condolences of the authorities.
“Lord, I love you” were the last words spoken in Italian by Benedict XVI shortly before he passed away on Saturday in the presence of a nurse, Bishop Gänswein reported.
The faithful enter in silence through the central aisle of the largest Catholic temple in the world, most of them photographing with their cell phones the body of the former Pope, who was dressed in white with a red chasuble, the color of papal mourning, with a white miter adorned with a golden border and an intertwined rosary in her hands. His face is almost unrecognizable.
Some pray or make the sign of the cross as they pass by his remains. A tall candle as well as many candles illuminate part of the room, while the smell of incense perfumes the environment. Among the first to arrive to say goodbye to Benedict XVI were the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, and the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella.
The Vatican gendarmerie calculates that about 40,000 people have paraded this Monday before the remains of the former Pope.
The remains of the first German Pontiff of the modern era were transferred at dawn from the small private chapel of the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, where he had resided since his resignation in 2013, in the Vatican gardens, to the Basilica in the course of a private ceremony.
The doors of the immense Basilica will remain open until 7:00 p.m. local time this Monday.
Tomorrow and Wednesday it will be accessible from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. so that the faithful can watch over Joseph Ratzinger, the brilliant theologian and fervent guardian of dogma, known for his conservative positions, who resigned his post in 2013 after eight years of Pontificate, citing the decline of his forces.
