Vatican releases first images of Benedict XVI’s body (photos)

Posted on 01/01/2023 at 14:37
Reading time: 2 mins

Lhe Vatican released on Sunday the first photos of the body of Benedict XVI, who died on Saturday at the age of 95 and whose memory was once again hailed by his successor Francis.

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We see the deceased pope lying on a catafalque, dressed in red (the color of papal mourning) and wearing a white miter adorned with a golden braid, a rosary in his hands. The catafalque is placed in the center of a small private chapel of the monastery where he lived since his renunciation in 2013, located in the heart of the Vatican gardens. A crucifix, a Christmas tree and a nativity scene are visible in the background.

Cardinals also prayed in front of the body of Joseph Ratzinger, according to a photo posted on social media.

“We entrust the beloved Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI to the Most Holy Mother (the Virgin Mary) to accompany him from this world to God,” the Argentine pontiff said Sunday during a mass at the Basilica of Saint -Peter of Rome, at midday. The pope once again paid homage to “this faithful servant of the Gospel and of the Church”, on the occasion of the weekly prayer of the Angelus. He spoke from the window of the apostolic palace in front of some 40,000 faithful gathered under the sun, place Saint-Pierre. He then observed a moment of silence.

The funeral celebrated by Francis for his predecessor, head of the Catholic Church from 2005 to 2013, will be an unprecedented event in the two thousand year history of the Catholic Church.

The public will already be able to gather from Monday morning to Wednesday evening in front of the body of Joseph Ratzinger, which will be transferred from the Ardent Chapel to Saint Peter’s Basilica. The first German pope in modern history will be buried in a crypt in the basilica after his funeral.

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