Vatican ends visit to body of Benedict XVI and prepares for 100,000 people at funeral

Some make the sign of the cross, others film and photograph themselves with their cell phones. There are those who show a more dismayed face and there are those who seem to be fulfilling another cultural-tourist stage in Rome —it is the week of school holidays in Italy, and the day in the capital had a spring climate in the middle of winter, with sun and 15° Ç.

Even so, the atmosphere was sober inside St. Peter’s Basilica, where, for three days, until the night of this Wednesday (4), the body of pope emeritus Benedict XVI, who died at the age of 95, was exposed. In total, around 195,000 people honored the German, according to the Vatican. The funeral will be celebrated this Thursday (5), at 9:30 am (5:30 am, Brasilia time), by Pope Francis.

During the afternoon, silence prevailed even with the crowd of faithful and onlookers, having been broken only by small children, perhaps bored by the long line formed to enter the church. Visitors took between 40 and 60 minutes to travel between the checkpoints — still outside the Vatican, on the streets of Rome — and the body of the religious.

It was necessary to go through a visual screening of backpacks and purses, dispose of objects such as umbrellas and bottles of liquids, and, further on, submit to metal detectors.

Inside the basilica, things moved quickly, as security agents did not allow people to stop in front of Benedict XVI. well accessible to the public eye. But, except authorities, who had access to benches, it was not possible to stop to kneel or pray. A woman then held up a handwritten sign across the line at the church: “Benedetto XVI – santo subito!” or “Benedict XVI – saint already”.

“He was a great pope, on a par with John Paul II. I am certain that he will be a saint, a saint of our time”, he told the Sheet José Atílio Vargas, 23, at the exit of the basilica. Born in Nicaragua and living in Rome, where he is studying to become a priest, Vargas praised Joseph Ratzinger’s legacy, especially in relation to theological studies and decisions of his papacy. “He left the celebration of the traditional Mass free, and I regret that the current pope has taken away that experience.”

In July 2021, Francis restricted the release of the Mass in Latin – a format prior to the 2nd Vatican Council (1962) – which had been decided by Benedict XVI, with the justification that the decision was fueling divisions in the church.

The almost ten years in which, unusually, there have been two living popes in the Vatican (one emeritus, the other in office), favor comparisons between the two leaders — not only between conservative religious, more identified with Benedict XVI, and progressives, close to of Francis; even lay people feel free to point out differences.

“Benedict XVI’s history is more confusing, he had a more complex papacy. Francis is friendlier”, evaluates Brazilian Dali Ribeiro Santos, 43, who lives in Portugal. On vacation in Rome, she faced the queue to honor the pope emeritus even though she is a “non-practicing Catholic”, as she defines herself. “It’s all too grand. It’s all history, kind of surreal,” she said, her eyes teary.

“Francisco is more open, closer, perhaps because he is Argentine. For Brazilians, he has a greater identification with the way he speaks and teaches,” says Rafaela de Campos, 39, who lives in England. Also on vacation in Italy, she planned to visit the basilica during the wake next to her friend Cleide Benedito, 58, who lives in Paraná.

“It was a great emotion, an unexpected feeling. We passed very close to the pope and I prayed for his soul”, said Cleide. The two then stopped, on the outskirts of the Vatican, at a street vendor selling tourist souvenirs, including magnets and rosaries with the faces of the popes. “We still haven’t decided which one we’re going to take,” said Campos.

Nearby, the Italian Alessandra Divanti also sold boxes of rosaries with the images of Francis and Benedict XVI, at €5 each. Despite celebrating the movement in recent days, driven by the coincidence of holidays, wake and good weather, she regretted having redone the stock with pieces from the German. “They’re almost intact there,” she said, pointing to the stack of boxes in the center of the stall.

This Thursday, the funeral that will be celebrated by Francisco can gather up to 100 thousand people, according to updated estimates. Among the authorities, the presidents of Italy and Germany are expected, the only delegations officially invited by the Vatican. Other political leaders and heads of state must participate on their own initiative. According to the Brazilian embassy to the Vatican, Brazil will not have an official representative at the ceremony – although a diplomat is expected to attend.

The first pope to resign in nearly six centuries, Ratzinger will have a funeral with protocols similar to those of a pope who stayed in office until death. Some modifications were prepared, such as the final supplications of the diocese of Rome and the Eastern Churches, specific to a reigning pontiff. After the mass, the coffin will be buried in the crypt of the basilica, where John Paul II was until his beatification.