Antonino Garofalo, edited by Ophélie Artaud
modified to
12:33 p.m., January 02, 2023
The remains of the pope emeritus, who died last Saturday at the age of 95, are on display until Wednesday evening at St. Peter’s Basilica. The opportunity for thousands of faithful to come and pay their last respects to Benedict XVI before his funeral, which will take place this Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m., presided over by Pope Francis.
In Rome, the funeral of Benedict XVI is being prepared. 30,000 people a day are expected from this Monday at Saint Peter’s Basilica where the remains of the sovereign pontiff will be on display until Wednesday. As of this Monday morning, around 6 a.m., hundreds of faithful lined up for up to 3 hours to say a last farewell to the pope. On the spot, Europe 1 met some faithful.
“A beautiful tribute to pay”
If this Italian would have liked to pay a last tribute to the former pope, she was discouraged by the world. “If it had been possible, I would have come, but there are too many people and in this period, with the Covid, it is better to be careful. I will pray for him and I will think of him”, she underlines.
This other faithful will be present in the Vatican, ready to wait for long hours. “We are also ready to face the queue. As with all beautiful and important things, these are important symbols of faith. It is a beautiful tribute to pay,” she justifies.
Funeral presided over by Pope Francis on Thursday morning
This Monday morning, even before the doors open, several hundred people are already queuing and nothing has been left to chance for a ceremony that promises to be historic. The faithful will be able to enter St. Peter’s in Rome from 9 a.m. to say farewell to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. His body will be in the choir of the basilica. She will stay there for three days, until Wednesday evening at 7 p.m.
Then his funeral will take place. They will be chaired by Pope Francis, Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m., in Saint Peter’s Square. The device has already been in place since last night. Barriers trace the route to follow to enter the basilica all along the rue de la Conciliation. This avenue that leads from the Tiber to the small Papal State, to Saint Peter’s Basilica, the last resting place of the German pontiff. He will go there on Monday morning when he leaves the chapel of the Mater Ecclesiae monastery in the Vatican gardens, where his body was laid after his death on Saturday.