Array
Pope Francis will preside at a funeral Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Thursday for his predecessor former Pope Benedict, who died on Saturday at the age of 95.
More than 60,000 people are expected to attend. There will be official delegations from Italy and Benedict’s native Germany. Others leaders, including the king and queen of Belgium and the queen of Spain, and about 13 heads of state of state or government, will attend in a private capacity. Most countries will be represented by their ambassadors to the Vatican.
Here is a guide to what is expected to happen:
Since Monday, the body of the Emeritus Pope has been lying in state in St. Peter’s Basilica, where more than 160,000 people had filed past to pay their respects as of midday Wednesday.
The viewing is due to end at 7 p.m. (1800 GMT). The body will then be placed in a coffin made of cypress wood, along with several papal items such as vestments symbolizing his role as pope and bishop, and coins and medals that were minted during his pontificate. Also included will be a lead tube with a deed in Latin listing the key points in his pontificate.
The cypress coffin will be closed privately in the presence of a few close aides, such as Archbishop Georg Ganswein, who was Benedict’s long-time secretary, and other members of the household where he lived after he resigned the papacy in 2013, the first pope to do so in 600 years.
