The Vatican hosted the funeral of Pope Emeritus, retired in 2013, Benedict XVI.
Photo: REUTERS
The Vatican hosted the funeral of Pope Emeritus, retired in 2013, Benedict XVI.
The farewell ceremony was unique for the Catholic Church: for the first time in the history of world Catholicism, the acting pontiff, Pope Francis, bid farewell to his predecessor for the last time.
Elements reminiscent of his papacy were placed in Benedict XVI’s cypress coffin: a sheet indicating significant events during his tenure on the throne, as well as coins minted in the same years.
The honorary Pope was buried in a crypt under the Cathedral of St. Peter
Benedict XVI (in the world – Joseph Ratzinger), who died on the last day of 2022, ascended the papal throne in 2005 at the age of 78, becoming the second German to preside over the Vatican in the last five centuries.
In February 2013, he announced that he was leaving his position for health reasons. The last such case was in 1415, when Pope Gregory XII acted in a similar way.
