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Pope Benedict XVI has been entombed in his final resting place in a private ceremony after a hundred thousand mourners gathered to say goodbye to the former pontiff.
His coffin was placed in the grottoes beneath St. Peter’s Basilica, in the Vatican, following a sombre two-hour ceremony.
The wooden lid on the outermost coffin was decorated with a simple metal cross, the emblem of his nearly eight-year-long papacy and an inscription in Latin noting that he had lived 95 years, eight months and 15 days when he died on December 31.
The inscription also records the date his papacy ended when he went into retirement, on February 28, 2013, and became Pope Emeritus. He was the first Pope to retire in six centuries.
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re blesses the coffin of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in the grottoes beneath St. Peter’s Basilica, in the Vatican, January 5, 2022
The coffin of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is buried in the Vatican Grottoes following the funeral ceremony in St Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican, January 5, 2023
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re reads a blessing for the coffin of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI while it is being buried in the Vatican Grottoes, Vatican, January 5, 2022
Officials prepare the casket of the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at St Peter’s Basilica in The Vatican, January 5, 2022
Following the funeral overseen by his predecessor Pope Francis, Benedict’s casket was placed in two more coffins.
This is traditional for pontiffs. The body is first placed in a casket of cypress wood, which in turn goes in a zinc coffin and then a second final wooden casket.
In the coffin, a written account of his historic papacy known as a rogito was also placed. The coins minted during his pontificate and his pallium stoles, the religious garment worn over the pope’s robes, were also laid in the casket.
In the private ceremony in the grottoes of St. Peter’s Basilica, Benedict’s longtime secretary, German Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, imparted a blessing after the remains were placed into a niche on the floor.
Also present for a final goodbye were the consecrated laywomen who helped care for him during his retirement in a monastery in the Vatican Gardens.
Benedict was placed in the underground Vatican grottoes at his request. His predecessors Pope John XXIII and John Paul II were also interred there before their remains were transferred to more prominent places in the basilica above.
The Vatican says that the public will be able to visit Benedict’s tomb after next week to allow for work to be completed.
The coffin of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is sealed before being buried in the Vatican Grottoes in St Peter’s Basilica on January 5, 2023
The coffin of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is buried in the Vatican Grottoes, January 5, 2022
Bishops Georg Gaenswein (right) and Diego Ravelli (left) cover the face of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI with a white silk veil as he rests in St Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City, January 5, 2022
Bishops Georg Gaenswein (right) and Diego Ravelli (left) cover the face of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI with a white silk veil as he rests in St Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City, January 5, 2022
Archbishop Georg Gaenswein kisses the closed coffin of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI inside Saint Peter’s Basilica, in images released January 5, 2022
As many as 100,000 mourners gathered in St Peter’s Square for the sombre two-hour ceremony – marking the first time in 200 years a pontiff has led the funeral of another.Â
Some even called for the late theologian, who died on Saturday at the age of 95, to be canonised and be made a saint.
Earlier in the day, before the funeral ceremony, Pope Francis, 86, arrived on a wheelchair and stood with the aid of a stick.
Benedict’s successor did not mention him by name in his homily until the final line. Referring to Jesus as the ‘bridegroom’ of the church, he said: ‘Benedict, faithful friend of the bridegroom, may your joy be complete as you hear his voice, now and forever.’
The pontiff used more than a dozen biblical references and Church writings in which he appeared to compare Benedict to Jesus, including his last words before he died on the cross: ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.’
Mourners started to pour into the square at 3am GMT – five and a half hours before the service for the German theologian.
Twelve pallbearers, who are lay attendants of the papal household, carried the coffin in and out of the basilica to the sound of applause and tolling bolls.
Pope Francis has said his final farewell to his predecessor as he bowed his head and touched the coffin of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
The 86-year-old Pope, who appeared emotional, was taken to his seat via a wheelchair and used a stick when he had to stand to deliver the service
As many as 100,000 mourners gathered in St Peter’s Square, which was shrouded in the mist, for the sombre two-hour ceremonyÂ
From right to left: Italian president Sergio Mattarella, prime minister Giorgia Meloni, Belgium’s Queen Mathilde wearing a black veil and King Philippe, Spain’s former queen Sofia, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and Poland’s President Andrzej Duda attend the funeral
A woman kneels down as she watches through the railings for Benedict’s funeral service presided over by Francis
A banner is held aloft reading ‘Santo Subito’, meaning Immediate Sainthood, echoing the calls for Pope John Paul II to be canonised at his 2005 funeral
One of the mourners in the square, Alessandra Aprea, held up a handwritten sign saying ‘Santo subito’ – meaning ‘Immediate Sainthood’ – and featuring a hand-drawn heart.
The 56-year-old, from the town of Meta di Sorrento near Naples, called Benedict a ‘saint of the faith.’ Benedict, who was the first pope to resign from the role in 600 years in 2013, was the pontiff who lifted the five-year period to start the sainthood process for his predecessor John Paul.
The first reading from the Prophet Isaiah was in Spanish while the second from the Letter of St Paul to the Ephesians was in English.
Today’s Gospel reading was sung in Italian from St Luke which told the story of Christ’s crucifixion and two criminals who were executed with him.
It included the lines: ‘One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!”
‘But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom”.
‘And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise”.’
As the Pope’s coffin was carried out of the basilica there was a round of applause which continued until the casket was placed on a raised platform in front of the altar.
The Rosary prayer was then recited by the huge crowd as mourners continued to gather in St Peter’s Square and along the main Via della Conciliazione which stretches half a mile back to the River Tiber.
Twelve pallbearers, who are lay attendants of the papal household, carried the coffin in and out of the basilica to the sound of applause and tolling bollsÂ
After performing the service, Pope Francis is taken away by wheelchair as the pallbearers carry the coffin towards St Peter’s Basilica
Pope Francis presided over the funeral of former Pope Benedict, delivering a homily comparing his predecessor to Jesus
Benedict, who was the first pontiff to retire since the Middle Ages, will be buried in the tomb under the basilica which previously held the body of John Paul II
Pope Francis, standing with a crutch, led ex-pope Benedict XVI’s funeral mass as a choir in St Peter’s Square sang prayers
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re blesses the coffin and sprays it with Holy Water during the ceremony
Francis, who stood with the aid of a crutch, did not mention Benedict by name in his homily until the final line, in which he referred to Jesus as the ‘bridegroom’ of the church
Pope Francis, who presided over the funeral of his predecessor in the papacy, sat in a chair near a canopied altar before a crowd of tens of thousands of faithful, who applauded
A line of clergymen snake back in through the doors of St Peter’s Basilica after the moving ceremony
Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni are given communion during the service
Mourners and clerics attend the funeral mass for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at St. Peter’s square
Francis, wearing the crimson vestments typical of papal funerals, took his place and opened the Mass with a prayer
Pope Francis in his papal regalia looks at the cypress wood coffin of his predecessor at the start of the historic funeral
On either side of the coffin were seated red-clad cardinals and dignitaries from around the world
Many mourners hailed from Benedict’s native Bavaria and donned traditional dress, including boiled wool coats to guard against the morning chill.
‘We came to pay homage to Benedict and wanted to be here today to say goodbye,’ said Raymond Mainar, who traveled from a small village east of Munich for the funeral. ‘He was a very good pope.’
Ignoring exhortations for decorum at the end, some in the crowd held banners or shouted ‘Santo Subito!’ – ‘Sainthood Now!’ – echoing the spontaneous chants that erupted during St. John Paul II’s 2005 funeral.
The former Joseph Ratzinger, who died Dec. 31 at age 95, is considered one of the 20th century’s greatest theologians and spent his lifetime upholding church doctrine. But he will go down in history for a singular, revolutionary act that changed the future of the papacy: He retired, the first pope in six centuries to do so.
Francis has praised Benedict’s courage to step aside, saying it ‘opened the door’ to other popes to do the same.
Tens of thousands of members of public also attended, many of them queuing before dawn to pay their respects to Benedict, who died last Saturday aged 95
A general view shows the coffin of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at the start of his funeral mass at St. Peter’s square
Pallbearers followed by German Archbishop Georg Gaenswein carry the coffin of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict’s body was displayed in a cypress coffin with a book of open gospels in St Peter’s Square
Pope Francis has arrived on a wheelchair to perform the funeral service for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in front of thousands of mourners gathered in St Peter’s Square
Pallbearers carry the coffin of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at the start of his funeral mass
Pope Francis arrived by wheelchair to perform the historic funeral service today in a rare ceremony presided over by a living pope
After being taken to his papal seat by wheelchair, Francis, who has a bad knee, used a stick to prop himself up on the altar
Archbishop Georg Ganswein pays his respect next to the coffin of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at the start of his funeral mass
Francis prayed in front of Benedict’s plain, cypress wood coffin, which lay at the head of the Vatican square packed with foreign dignitaries, cardinals, bishops, priests and believers from around the world
The cypress coffin of Pope Benedict XVI has been displayed in front of thousands of mourners who have been pouring into St Peter’s Square
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (L) and Italian President Sergio Mattarella attend the funeral mass
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was sitting on one side of the coffin alongside other world leaders
Spanish Queen Sofia is pictured arriving ahead of today’s ceremony, with royals and politicians in attendance
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was among the dignitaries present for the funeral in Vatican City
The coffin of former Pope Benedict is carried in front of a sea of cardinals to be displayed to the throngs gathered at St Peter’s Square
More than 1,000 Italian security personnel were called up to help safeguard the event, and air space around the tiny Holy See has been closed off for the day. Italy ordered that flags around the country be flown at half mast
A wooden nativity scene is displayed in the square amid the thousands of mourners gathered for the funeral today
After the end of his lying-in-state on Wednesday evening, Benedict’s body was placed in a cypress coffin which was closed privately in the presence of a few close aides, such as his long-time secretary
A huge white awning outside St Peter’s Basilica in the square covered the altar from where Pope Francis is leading the ceremony in Latin, Italian, English and Spanish.
The event is drawing heads of state and royalty despite Benedict’s requests for simplicity and Vatican efforts to keep the first funeral for an emeritus pope in modern times low-key.Â
To the left sat cardinals and archbishops in bright red robes, the colour a striking contrast to the grey mist that hung in the sky and clung to the walls of the centuries old Basilica.
On the right VIPs and other dignitaries including Queen Sofia of Spain and King Philippe of Belgium.
As revealed by MailOnline, no UK royals were at the funeral but Education Secretary Gillian Keegan was sent as the country’s representative.
Only Italy and Germany were invited to send official delegations, and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni confirmed their participation.
But other heads of state and government decided to take the Vatican up on its offer and come in their ‘private capacity’.Â
It is a far cry from the last papal funeral in 2005, when dozens of kings, presidents and prime ministers joined more than a million people who flooded the streets around the Vatican to pay their respects to Benedict’s charismatic predecessor, John Paul II.Â
The former Pope’s body – which had been lying in state for three days and had been seen by more than 200,000 people was brought outside just before 9am and placed in front of the Basilica.
Among those present were Germans in traditional Bavarian outfits carrying flags and standards of the area of Germany where Benedict was born.
Air space around the tiny Holy See has been closed off for the day and Italy has ordered that flags around the country be flown at half staff.Â
The funeral rite calls for Benedict’s coffin to be carried out from the basilica and placed before the altar as the faithful recite the rosary.
The ritual itself is modelled on the code used for dead popes but with some modifications given Benedict was not a reigning pope when he died.
The three-page account of his life and papacy, written in Latin, says he ‘fought with firmness’ against sexual abuse by clergy in the Church.Â
After the Mass, Benedict’s cypress coffin is to be placed inside a zinc one, then an outer oak casket before being entombed in the crypt in the grottos underneath the basilica that once held the tomb of St John Paul II before it was moved upstairs into the main basilica.
In his coffin is a written account of his historic papacy known as a rogito, the coins minted during his pontificate and his pallium stoles, the religious garment worn over the pope’s robes.
Pilgrims, tourists and Romans started flocking to St. Peter’s Square before dawn on Thursday, hours before the scheduled start of the mid-morning funeral for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
Some 100,000 people were expected to crowd into the square and spill over into the wide boulevard leading to it from the Tiber River
Francis, who is 86, has been using a wheelchair or cane in public ceremonies due to a knee problem
Benedict, a world renowned theologian, died at 95 on Saturday in a monastery within the Vatican gardens where he moved after becoming the first pontiff in 600 years to stand down
Francis, speaking in Latin, began the ceremony by inviting the faithful to acknowledge their sins
Priests and faithfuls during the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in Saint Peter’s Square, Vatican City
Former Queen Sofia of Spain (L) and Queen Mathilde of Belgium (Front R) attend the funeral mass of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
Clergy from around the world, a handful of heads of state and thousands of faithful attended the outdoor ceremony as the sun slowly broke through the fog
Heads of state and royalty, clergy from around the world and thousands of regular people flocked to the ceremony, despite Benedict’s requests for simplicity and official efforts to keep the first funeral for an pope emeritus in modern times low-key
The former Joseph Ratzinger, who died Dec. 31 at age 95, is considered one of the 20th century’s greatest theologians and spent his lifetime upholding church doctrine
Cardinals dressed in their traditional robes start to take their seats ahead of the ceremony today which will be attended by thousands
Clergy members in white robes gather in the centuries-old square to witness a rare funeral for a pope presided over by a living one
A woman holds a cross as she waits the funeral mass for late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, in St. Peter’s Square
The German Pope had been lying in state at St Peter’s Basilica where thousands came to view the former leader of the Catholic Church
Faithful in Bavarian attire walk at St. Peter’s Square on the day of the funeral of former Pope Benedict at the Vatican
Among those were Germans in traditional Bavarian outfits carrying flags and standards of the area of Germany where Benedict was born
Two key prayers, from the diocese of Rome and the Eastern rite churches, that were recited during John Paul’s funeral, for example, will be omitted because Benedict wasn’t pope when he died and because both branches of the Catholic Church still have a reigning pope as their leader: Francis.Â
The readings also differ from those chosen for the funeral of Pope John Paul II, focusing on ‘the sure hope and the promise’ of eternal life in heaven.
Some 200,000 paid tribute to Benedict during three days of public viewing in St Peter’s Basilica, with one of the last ones Friar Rosario Vitale, who spent an hour praying by his body.
He said Benedict had given him a special dispensation to begin the process of becoming a priest, which was required because of a physical disability.
‘So today I came here to pray on his tomb, on his body and to say ‘thank you’ for my future priesthood, for my ministry,’ he said. ‘I owe him a lot and this for me was really a gift to be able to pray for an hour on his bier.’
The former Joseph Ratzinger, who died on December 31 at age 95, is considered one of the 20th century’s greatest theologians and spent his lifetime upholding church doctrine.
But he will go down in history for a singular, revolutionary act that changed the future of the papacy: He retired, the first pope in six centuries to do so.
Francis has praised Benedict’s courage in stepping aside when he believed he no longer had the strength to lead the church, saying it ‘opened the door’ to other popes doing the same.
Francis, for his part, recently said he has already left written instructions outlining the conditions in which he too would resign if he were to become incapacitated.Â
Benedict never intended his retirement to last as long as it did – at nearly 10 years it was longer than his eight-year pontificate.
And the unprecedented situation of a retired pope living alongside a reigning one prompted calls for protocols to guide future popes emeritus to prevent any confusion about who is really in charge.
During St John Paul II’s quarter-century as pope, the former Joseph Ratzinger spearheaded a crackdown on dissent as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, taking action against the left-leaning liberation theology that spread in Latin America in the 1970s and against dissenting theologians and nuns who did not toe the Vatican’s hard line on matters like sexual morals.
Cardinals arrive prior the funeral mass of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at St. Peter’s square in the Vatican
The body of the German theologian, who in 2013 became the first pontiff in six centuries to resign, was laid out in a simple cypress coffin in front of St Peter’s Basilica, where his remains will later be laid in the crypt
His death brought an end to an unprecedented situation of having two ‘men in white’ – he and Francis – living in tiny city state
Pallbearers pay their respect in front of the coffin of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at the start of his funeral mass
His legacy was marred by the clergy sexual abuse scandal, even though he recognised earlier than most the ‘filth’ of priests who raped children, and actually laid the groundwork for the Holy See to punish them.
As cardinal and pope, he passed sweeping church legislation that resulted in 848 priests being defrocked from 2004-2014, roughly his pontificate with a year on either end.
But abuse survivors still held him responsible for the crisis, for failing to sanction any bishop who moved abusers around and identifying him as embodying the clerical system that long protected the institution over victims.
‘Any celebration that marks the life of abuse enablers like Benedict must end,’ said the main US survivor group SNAP.
Thousands of people began arriving in the dark of the night on Thursday to attend the funeral of former Pope Benedict, a hero to Roman Catholic conservatives who shocked the world by resigning nearly a decade ago
Benedict died at 95 last Saturday in a monastery within the Vatican gardens where he moved after becoming the first pontiff in 600 years to stand down, opening the way for the election of Pope Francis, who has proved a more reformist, hands-on leader
Over the past three days almost 200,000 people have filed past Benedict’s body dressed in a mitre and red vestments, his hands wrapped in a rosary, which was placed on a bier in St. Peter’s Basilica without any papal regalia
A faithful carries the flag of Germany at St. Peter’s Square on the day of the funeral of former Pope Benedict at the Vatican
Benedict died at 95 on Dec. 31 in the monastery on the Vatican grounds where he had spent nearly all of his decade in retirement
A general view of Saint Peter’s Square taken from the terrace of Saint Peter’s Basilica prior to the funeral ceremony
Thousands of devotees are expected at the ceremony at the Catholic headquarters including nuns and clergy from all over the world
Even though he largely avoided public appearances in subsequent years, he remained a standard-bearer for Catholic conservatives, who felt alienated by reforms ushered in by Francis, including cracking down on the old Latin Mass
Priests prepare the Eucharist in front of the iconic facade of St Peter’s Basilica as Catholics from around the world descend on the Vatican
Mourners started to pour in from the early hours, with some prepared with a duvet for the long wait until the historic ceremony
Police estimated some 100,000 would attend, higher than an original estimate of 60,000, Italian media reported, citing police security plans
A nun reads a copy of L’Osservatore Romano, the daily newspaper of Vatican City State, which today pays tribute to Benedict
Some began arriving in the Vatican area as early as 4am, five and half hours before the funeral presided over by his successor, Pope Francis, was due to begin in St. Peter’s Square
While his funeral is novel, it does have some precedent: In 1802, Pope Pius VII presided over the funeral in St Peter’s of his predecessor, Pius VI, who had died in exile in France in 1799 as a prisoner of Napoleon.
An intellectual theologian, Benedict was always likely to rule in the shadow of John Paul, who was credited with helping end the Cold War. But his time in charge was to a degree spent trying to overcome problems the Church had ignored or covered up in previous decades, including rampant sexual abuses by clerics.
Benedict himself acknowledged he was a weak administrator, and after eight years in the job he stunned the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics in 2013 by resigning, saying he was no longer strong enough to lead the Church due to his ‘advanced age’.
Even though he largely avoided public appearances in subsequent years, he remained a standard-bearer for Catholic conservatives, who felt alienated by reforms ushered in by Francis, including cracking down on the old Latin Mass.
Over the past three days almost 200,000 people have filed past Benedict’s body dressed in a mitre and red vestments, his hands wrapped in a rosary, which was placed on a bier in St. Peter’s Basilica without any papal regalia.
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