1000’s mourn Benedict XVI as pontiff emeritus in Vatican

1000’s of individuals filed previous the physique of Benedict XVI on Monday because the pontiff emeritus, who died on Saturday on the age of 95, was in St. Peter’s Basilica within the Vatican.

He will likely be buried by his successor, Pope Francis, on Thursday.

Benedict’s physique, draped in purple and gold robes, is flanked by two Swiss guards and surrounded by worshipers who pay their respects to solemn organ music and chanting. It is the form of atmosphere you’d anticipate for a papacy marked by his orthodoxy, although not with out its controversies.

He was often called a traditionalist, “God’s Rottweiler” for his fierce adherence to church doctrine. However Benedict’s papacy was a papacy of firsts.

Regardless of his setbacks, throughout a 2008 go to to the USA, he was the primary pope to satisfy with victims of sexual abuse and publicly apologize, denouncing what he known as “filth” within the church.

And in his most decisive act, Benedict was the primary pope to resign in six centuriesrecognizing, he stated that as a result of pressure of previous age, he was “incapability” to carry out his service.

Whereas he gave a grand farewell to the Everlasting Metropolis when he left the papacy in 2013, he by no means left the Vatican. Whereas Francis defended Benedict’s braveness in relinquishing his authority, the 2 white-clad males appeared like two competing ideological camps: Francis extra liberal, Benedict extra conservative.

Tina White, visiting the Vatican from Detroit, stated it was unsuitable for Benedict to resign. “It’s an incredible honor to be elected Pope of Rome. And it shouldn’t be thrown away.”

However now, for the primary time since turning into pope almost 10 years in the past, Francis is lastly alone, now mourning his solely confidant who might perceive what it meant to be pope, stated Gerard O’Connell, a Vatican professional on Jesuits. journal America.

CBS Information requested O’Connell. “What does Francis lose with Benedict’s loss of life?”

“Francis has at all times been fascinated by grandparents,” O’Connell replied. “He at all times handled his grandparents as essential in his household’s life. He misplaced a grandfather.”

On Thursday, Francis will make historical past by turning into the primary pope in fashionable occasions to preside over the funeral of his predecessor.

The Vatican says the ceremony will likely be sober and easy, simply as Benedict wished.