Pope Benedict’s funeral today will go down in history | world News

[ad_1]

He made history during his lifetime and now Pope Benedict XVI will do so in death.

For the first time in hundreds of years, the Vatican will hold the funeral of a previous pope, presided over by the current pope.

The service will begin in the morning, three days after Benedict’s body is displayed, dressed in robes and a rosary, allowing tens of thousands of mourners to proceed.

Led by Pope Francis, the service will include traditional elements as well as some that will be individual at this funeral.

A document written in Latin detailing some of the highlights of Benedict’s papacy will be buried, along with coins and other papal regalia.

The service will begin with introductory rites, wishing for “eternal rest and… perpetual light.”

It will include readings from Isaiah and from the first letter of Saint Peter.

You will refer to him as “Pope Emeritus Benedict” and describe him as “a successor of Peter and pastor of the Church, a courageous preacher of your word and faithful servant of the Divine Mysteries.”

Benedict will be buried in the traditional triple coffin, with a cypress sarcophagus then surrounded first with zinc and then another wooden sarcophagus.

He will be buried in the crypt below St. Peter’s Basilica, in an area once occupied by the coffin of his predecessor, Pope John Paul II.

Image: Mourners line up in Saint Peter’s Square to pay their respects

Read more: Pope Benedict XVI passes away

The funeral of a pope emeritus will differ from the one that will be held after the death of the current pontiff.

Only two international delegations were officially invited – from Italy, where the Vatican is located, and from Germany, the homeland of Benedict, formerly known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

Germany will probably send its president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Many countries will continue to send eminent personalities to the event. Education Secretary Gillian Keegan will represent the UK. The King of Belgium and Queen of Spain will be present.

The funeral will be watched by a large audience around the world.

For some observers, this would be an occasion reflecting a more modern view of the papacy, as a role that could rightly be relinquished in favor of a younger and younger successor.

For others, though, this will reawaken two fundamental questions — one, whether Benedict has set a precedent for the job to be more of a short-term role than one that’s done to death; And the second, how will Pope Francis’ position change, now that he’s the only living person to be named a pope.

On the one hand, it may encourage him further to pursue his own initiative and methods of thinking, now that the ghost of his predecessor (who lived in a converted monastery within the Vatican throughout his retirement) is gone.

Please use the Chrome browser for an easily accessible video player

4:20 Life of former Pope Benedict XVI

On the other hand, however, there are those who believe that Francis, suffering from ill health, may soon begin to wonder whether he too wishes to step down from the leadership of the Catholic Church and follow the precedent of Benedict’s retirement.

Francis will conduct the service from a wheelchair.

These are the questions that will follow today’s funeral. But for now, the focus is on one thing – the grim process of allowing more than a billion Catholics around the world to say goodbye to the man who has led them for nearly a decade.

[ad_2]