The Eternal City prepared to bid farewell to Pope emeritus Benedict XVI at his somber funeral on a very cloudy morning. At the beginning of the Mass, a group of Vatican pallbearers carried his coffin to the altar.
Archbishop Georg Gänswein, the Pope emeritus' personal secretary, knelt before the coffin and kissed it.
Cardinals from around the world came to Rome to con-celebrate the funeral Mass. Representatives of Eastern communities such as the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church also joined in the ceremony. Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski represented the Ukrainian Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk.
In addition to religious leaders, there were also various heads of state, such as Sergio Mattarella, President of the Republic of Italy, and Giorgia Meloni, the Italian Prime Minister.
In his homily, Pope Francis praised all the ways in which Pope emeritus Benedict XVI gave himself to the Church.
POPE FRANCIS
We're grateful for his dedicated service to the Lord and His People that comes from embracing a completely free gift: 'You belong to me—you belong to them,' says the Lord.
The Pope also highlighted the Pope emeritus' deep spirit of prayer, remembering that he dedicated his last ten years to prayer at the Mater Ecclesiae monastery.
POPE FRANCIS
Invisible and unseen fruitfulness that comes from knowing in whose hands trust has been placed—prayerful and adoring trust, capable of interpreting the shepherd's actions and adapting his heart and decisions to God's timing.
Pope Francis asked those gathered in the Square to show the Pope emeritus their love with the same wisdom, delicacy and dedication that he had in life. The Pope wished his predecessor a happy encounter with God—something for which he had been waiting for years.
POPE FRANCIS
Blessed, faithful friend of the Bridegroom, may your joy be perfect in hearing definitively and forever His voice!
Pope Francis said a prayer in Latin asking God to admit the Pope emeritus into Heaven.
At the end of the celebration, the Vatican pallbearers took the coffin to the crypt of the Popes, where Pope emeritus Benedict XVI was buried close to the tombs of Pope St. John Paul I and St. Peter.
As local authorities anticipated, some 60,000 people attended the funeral Mass in St. Peter's Square, celebrating the life of the Pope emeritus.
RM
TR: KG
