With bells tolling, tens of thousands of faithful, political leaders, and the pope himself mourned Benedict XVI, the German theologian who made history by resigning the papacy,.
With bells tolling, tens of thousands of faithful, political leaders, and the pope himself mourned Benedict XVI, the German theologian who made history by resigning the papacy, at a rare requiem Mass Thursday for a dead pontiff presided over by a living one. The crowd applauded as pallbearers carried Benedict’s cypress coffin out of the fog-shrouded St. Peter’s Basilica and rested it before the altar in the vast square outside, the AP reports. Pope Francis, wearing the crimson vestments typical of papal funerals, opened the service with a prayer and closed it an hour later by solemnly blessing the simple casket—decorated only with the former pope’s coat of arms. The former Joseph Ratzinger died Dec. 31 at age 95.
Heads of state and royalty, clergy from around the world, and 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.
