Funeral of Benedict XVI
German delegation around Chancellor Scholz says goodbye on site
Top German politicians attend the funeral ceremony of Benedict XVI. in the Vatican, including Chancellor Olaf Scholz (centre right), Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (centre bottom) as well as CDU leader Friedrich Merz (top right) and CSU leader Markus Söder (top left).
© ILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images
At the funeral of Benedict XVI. A German delegation led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz also arrived in the Vatican on Thursday.
At the funeral of the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. (1927-2022) in the Vatican today (January 5) a German delegation of top politicians also arrived. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD, 64), Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (67), Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD, 52), CDU leader Friedrich Merz (67), Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (56, CSU) and Federal Council President Peter Tschentscher (SPD, 56) attend the mourning ceremony.
The former Prime Minister of Bavaria, Edmund Stoiber (81, CSU), also bids farewell to the Pope Emeritus on site said the “Bild” newspaper: “I am here with a sad feeling, but also with a feeling of greatness, because he was a German pope and a Bavarian pope. To be able to be here is a great moment. The pope was a worker in the vineyard.”
Funeral Mass in St. Peter’s Square since morning
The funeral ceremony of the Pope Emeritus, who died on December 31, 2022, has been taking place in the Vatican since Thursday morning. The coffin was brought to St. Peter’s Square by porters. Tens of thousands of Catholics are on site who want to say goodbye to the deceased, including around 300 mountain riflemen from Bavaria.
Heads of state and government of other countries also pay their last respects to the deceased, for example Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella (81), Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (45) and Poland’s President Andrzej Duda (50) as well as Belgium’s King Philippe (62) and his wife, Queen Mathilde (49). From the Spanish royal family, Sophia (84), the mother of King Felipe (54), attends the procedure. Benedict’s successor, Pope Francis (86), leads the funeral ceremonies on St. Peter’s Square.
Joseph Ratzinger, like Benedict XVI. whose real name was called, was the incumbent Pope from 2005 to 2013. In 2013 he became the first pope since 1294 to resign voluntarily and since then has lived in seclusion in a monastery in the Vatican.