How will the ceremony take place?
The ceremony lasted about two hours, with the prayers of the faithful being recited in several languages (French, Italian, German, Arabic and Portuguese), prayer intentions for Pope Benedict, Pope Francis and Pope Francis. leaders of countries.
Pope Francis will say his final goodbyes before moving Benedict's coffin into the Vatican catacombs to be buried.
Cardinal Zen among the Catholic guests French bishops, a delegation of seventeen German bishops, American cardinals, many bishops, cardinals from other countries attended the funeral.
Cardinal Joseph Zen, whose passport was confiscated after his arrest in May was allowed by a Chinese court to attend Mass, will return to Hong Kong on Saturday. Eastern Church clerics and Greek-Ukrainian Catholic Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski, and other non-Catholic religious leaders will be in Rome as the Director of the Moscow Patriarchate's Department of External Church Relations , Bishop Antonij of Volokolamsk and his assistants, as representatives of the Eastern European Patriarchs, attended the funeral.
Representing the Anglican Communion to the Holy See, Archbishop Ian Ernest and leaders of the Protestant faith (World Methodist Council, Lutheran parish in Rome and World Evangelical Union) will attend the German funeral. Benedict.
Germany and Italy, the only two countries officially invited
Only two countries were officially invited to the funeral: Germany and Italy. On the German side, President Frank-Walter Stenmeier and Prime Minister Olaf Scholz; Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attended the ceremony.
Other political figures attended with personalities such as Queen Sophie of Spain, King Philippe of Belgium or Polish president Andrzej Duda. The French government is represented by the Minister of the Interior and Worship Gérald Darmanin.
The coffin of Pope Benedict
According to tradition, the body of the late pope is laid to rest in St Peter's Basilica for three days. About 200,000 people came to visit. On Wednesday evening, his body was placed in a coffin made of coniferous wood, which is impervious to water. With him, several icons are buried: the episcopal pallium of the diocese of Munich and the diocese of Rome; medals and coins depicting his pontificate (2005-2013); a document in Latin, showing who he was and what his pontificate was, housed in a tubular metal box.
Ceremony program
At 8:50 a.m., the coffin will be solemnly carried by twelve men and placed in the courtyard in front of St. Peter's Square on the ground. A gospel is placed on the coffin. At the end of Mass, the book was taken to one of the crypts of St. Peter's Basilica. Before burial, the cypress coffin will be covered with a zinc coffin and then another wooden coffin.
Pope Francis presided and preached the Mass. But because of knee pain, the funeral will be held at the altar by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. Mass will end at 11:15 am.
About 100 cardinals will attend the Mass. There will be 420 bishops, nearly 4,000 concelebrating priests and a choir of 250.
Peter's Square has a capacity of 300,000 people. According to the weather forecast, the weather in Rome is mild. But the record of 2 million parishioners at the funeral of John Paul II on April 8, 2005 will not be matched. There are more than a hundred countries officially invited to the Polish pope but only two countries are officially invited for the funeral of Benedict: Germany and Italy. Francis did not declare a day of mourning in the Vatican for his predecessor. During his general audience on Wednesday, January 4, he thanked God for giving Pope Benedict to the Catholic Church, the depth of Joseph Ratzinger's thought is still useful today and the whole Church is grateful to him. .
Translated by Joseph Nguyen Tung Lam
Pope Francis thanks God for giving us Benedict
Image of the funeral of Pope Benedict held by Pope Francis on the morning of Thursday, January 5 in St. Peter's Square.