Thousands of worshipers paraded to say goodbye to Benedict XVI at St. Peter’s Basilica.

Thousands of worshipers rose early this Monday to parade in front of the body Benedict XVI, in the burning chapel erected in St. Peter’s Basilicain that Vaticanto say goodbye to the honorary pontiff, who passed away on Saturday at the age of 95.

The long line reached a huge St. Peter’s Square and surrounded the famous esplanade columns guarded by an important security device, as well as hundreds of journalists from all over the world who came to cover the funeral dad.

“He was a great dad, deep and unique,” ​​said the Italian. Francesca Gabrielliarrived from Tuscany to say goodbye to the honorary pontiff.

The body of Joseph Ratzinger lies on a hearse draped in gold cloth, flanked by two regalia-clad Swiss Guards, in front of the basilica’s main altar, which is dominated by a black bronze canopy with soaring twisted columns designed by the Baroque master Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

Several cardinals and members curia Roman vigil for the dead, and the personal secretary for many years of the Pope Emeritus, Bishop Georg Gänswein, accepts the condolences of the authorities.

According to Bishop Ganswein, “Lord, I love you” were the last words spoken in Italian by Benedict XVI shortly before he died on Saturday in the presence of a nurse.

Worshipers silently enter through the central aisle of the largest Catholic church in the world, most of them photographing on mobile phones the body of an expat, dressed in white with a red papal mourning chasuble, with a white miter adorned with a gold border, and an intertwined rosary in his hands. His face is almost unrecognizable.

Some pray or cross themselves as they pass by his remains. A tall candle, as well as many candles, illuminate part of the room, and the smell of incense fills the environment.

Among the first to come to say goodbye to Benedict XVI They were Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni and President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella.

gendarmerie Vatican It is estimated that about 40,000 people marched this Monday ahead of the remnants of the expapada.

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 resided after his retirement in 2013, to the gardens of the Vatican, to the basilica in a private ceremony.

Doors of the huge basilica They will be open until 19:00 (18:00 GMT) this Monday.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, it will be available from 0600 GMT until 1800 GMT for the faithful to watch Joseph Ratzinger, a brilliant theologian and fiery dogma keeper known for his conservative views, who left office in 2013 after eight years of the pontificate, citing the decline of his strength.

Pope Francisco paid several public tributes to the “beloved” Benedict XVI”faithful servant Gospel and the Church”, recalling his “goodness”, “his nobility”, “his testimony of faith and prayer, especially in these last years of solitary life.”

Dad’s funeral without functions

Thursday, francisco will preside over the solemn funeral of the Pope of Honor in a huge St. Peter’s Square.

funeral dad honorary, that is, without functions, has no protocol specificso some of the steps for a practicing pontiff will be done.

This is the first time in history that the Pope has presided over the funeral of his predecessor.

The ceremony will begin at 08:30 GMT, it will be unprecedented and sober, as announced by the Vatican.

With this act, the saga of the “two popes,” two white-clad men who have been living together in the smallest state in the world for almost a decade, ends.

At the end of the funeral, the coffin of the honorary pontiff will be buried in the caves of the Vatican under St. Peterin the same crypt where, until 2011, John Paul II, the representative VaticanMatteo Bruni.

After eight years of pontificate, marked by numerous crises, and having spent the last 10 years of his life in prayer and study, Benedict XVI was accused in early 2022 of hiding four pedophile priests while he was archbishop in Germany, a stain that casts a shadow over his papacy and a case he denied for the rest of his life.

“He knew a lot. It’s a pity that he didn’t help uncover these scandals,” lamented German Valeria Michalak, paying tribute to him in the basilica.

AFP