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VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis joined tens of thousands of faithful successful bidding farewell to Benedict XVI astatine a uncommon requiem Mass Thursday for a dormant pope presided implicit by a surviving one, ending an unprecedented decennary for the Catholic Church that was sparked by the German theologian’s determination to retire.
Bells tolled and the assemblage applauded arsenic pallbearers carried Benedict’s cypress coffin retired of the fog-shrouded St. Peter’s Basilica and placed it earlier the altar successful the quadrate outside. Wearing the crimson vestments emblematic of papal funerals, Francis opened the service with a supplication and closed it by solemnly blessing the elemental casket — decorated lone with the erstwhile pope’s overgarment of arms.
In between, Francis made lone fleeting notation to Benedict successful his homily, offering a meditation connected Christ alternatively of a eulogy of his predecessor’s bequest earlier the casket was sealed and entombed successful the basilica grotto.
Heads of authorities and royalty, clergy from astir the satellite and thousands of regular radical flocked to the subdued ceremony, contempt Benedict’s petition for simplicity and authoritative efforts to support the archetypal ceremonial for a pope emeritus successful modern times low-key.
Many mourners hailed from Benedict’s autochthonal Bavaria and donned accepted dress, including boiled wool coats to defender against the greeting chill.
“We came to wage homage to Benedict and wanted to beryllium present contiguous to accidental goodbye,” said Raymond Mainar, who traveled from a tiny colony eastbound of Munich for the funeral. “He was a precise bully pope.”
Ignoring exhortations for decorum astatine the end, immoderate successful the assemblage held banners oregon shouted “Santo Subito!” — “Sainthood Now!” — echoing the spontaneous chants that erupted during St. John Paul II’s 2005 funeral.
The erstwhile Joseph Ratzinger, who died Dec. 31 astatine property 95, is considered 1 of the 20th century’s top theologians and spent his beingness upholding religion doctrine. But helium volition spell down successful past for a singular, revolutionary enactment that changed the aboriginal of the papacy: He retired, the archetypal pope successful six centuries to bash so.
Francis has praised Benedict’s courageousness successful stepping aside, saying it “opened the door” for other popes to bash the same.
Some 50,000 radical attended Thursday’s Mass, according to the Vatican, aft astir 200,000 paid their respects during 3 days of nationalist viewing.
Only Italy and Germany were invited to nonstop authoritative delegations, but different leaders took the Vatican up connected its connection and came successful their “private capacity.” They included respective heads of state, astatine slightest 4 premier ministers and 2 delegations of royal representatives. In addition, a big of patriarchs joined 125 cardinals successful the seats to the broadside of the altar, and the Russian Orthodox Church sent its overseas envoy.
Among those attending was Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen, who was fixed peculiar tribunal support to be the funeral. Zen was detained successful May connected suspicion of colluding with overseas forces nether China’s nationalist information instrumentality aft helium fell afoul of authorities implicit his information successful a now-silenced ideology movement. His passport was revoked erstwhile helium was detained.
Benedict’s adjacent confidants were besides successful attendance, and the erstwhile pope’s longtime secretary, Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, bent down and kissed a publication of the Gospels that was near unfastened connected the coffin earlier the ceremonial began.
Matteo Colonna, a 20-year-old seminarian from Teramo, Italy, said helium came successful portion due to the fact that of the historical quality of the ceremonial — but besides due to the fact that it had idiosyncratic resonance for him.
“The archetypal spark of my vocation started nether the pontificate of Benedict, but past it became adjacent stronger nether Pope Francis,” Colonna said, portion sitting successful supplication successful St. Peter’s Square astatine dawn. “I spot a continuity betwixt these 2 popes and the information that contiguous Francis is celebrating the ceremonial successful Benedict’s representation is an humanities event.”
But the work was besides important for what it lacked: the feeling of uncertainty that would usually travel the passing of a pope earlier a caller 1 is elected. Instead, with Francis successful place, Benedict’s decease marked the extremity of a decennary successful which a reigning pope lived alongside a retired one.
“Benedict has been the span betwixt John Paul and Francis,” said Alessandra Aprea, a 56-year-old from Meta di Sorrento adjacent Naples. “We could not person Francis without him.”
Early Thursday the Vatican released the authoritative past of Benedict’s life, a abbreviated papers successful Latin that was placed successful a metallic cylinder successful his coffin earlier it was sealed, on with the coins and medallions minted during his papacy and his pallium stoles.
The papers gave ample attraction to Benedict’s historical resignation and referred to him arsenic “pope emeritus,” citing verbatim the Latin words helium uttered connected Feb. 11, 2013, erstwhile helium announced helium would retire.
The document, known arsenic a “rogito” oregon deed, besides cited his theological and papal legacy, including his outreach to Anglicans and Jews and his efforts to combat clergy intersexual maltreatment “continually calling the religion to conversion, prayer, penance and purification.”
Francis didn’t notation Benedict’s circumstantial bequest successful his homily and lone uttered his sanction once, successful the last line, delivering alternatively a meditation connected Jesus’ willingness to entrust himself to God’s will.
“Holding accelerated to the Lord’s past words and to the witnesser of his full life, we too, arsenic an ecclesial community, privation to travel successful his steps and to commend our member into the hands of the Father,” Francis said.
During St. John Paul II’s quarter-century arsenic pope, Ratzinger spearheaded a crackdown connected dissent arsenic prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, taking enactment against the left-leaning liberation theology that dispersed successful Latin America successful the 1970s and against dissenting theologians and nuns who didn’t toed the Vatican’s hard enactment connected matters similar intersexual morals.
His bequest was marred by the clergy intersexual maltreatment crisis, adjacent though helium recognized earlier than astir the “filth” of priests who raped children, and really laid the groundwork for the Holy See to punish them.
As cardinal and pope, helium passed sweeping religion authorities that resulted successful 848 priests being defrocked from 2004 to 2014, astir his pontificate with a twelvemonth connected either end. But maltreatment survivors inactive held him responsible, for failing to authorisation immoderate bishop who moved abusers around, refusing to mandate the reporting of enactment crimes to constabulary and identifying him arsenic embodying the clerical system that agelong protected the instauration implicit victims.
Mike McDonnell of the U.S. maltreatment subsister radical SNAP said portion Benedict passed caller canon laws, helium could person done acold much to power John Paul to instrumentality steadfast action. Referring to Benedict’s nickname arsenic “God’s Rottweiler,” helium said: “In our successful our view, it was a canine bark without a bite. Certainly helium could person done more.”
A radical representing German clergy maltreatment survivors called connected German officials attending Benedict’s ceremonial to request much enactment from the Vatican connected intersexual abuse. Eckiger Tisch asked leaders to request that Francis contented a “universal religion law” stipulating zero tolerance successful dealing with maltreatment by clergy.
The ceremonial ritual itself is modeled connected the code utilized for dormant popes but with immoderate modifications fixed Benedict was not a reigning pontiff erstwhile helium died.
After the Mass, Benedict’s cypress coffin was placed wrong a zinc one, past an outer oak casket earlier being entombed successful the crypt successful the grottoes underneath St. Peter’s Basilica that erstwhile held the John Paul’s tomb earlier it was moved upstairs.
While Thursday’s Mass was unusual, it does person immoderate precedent: In 1802, Pope Pius VII presided implicit the ceremonial successful St. Peter’s of his predecessor, Pius VI, who had died successful exile successful France successful 1799 arsenic a captive of Napoleon.
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Associated Press writer Trisha Thomas contributed.
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