As thousands of visitors pay their respects to Pope Benedict XVI as his body lay in state in Vatican City, church officials are preparing for the upcoming state funeral where the Pope's body will be laid to rest.
Public viewing was set for 10 hours on Monday, and 12 hours each on Tuesday and Wednesday before Thursday morning’s funeral, which will be led by Pope Francis, at St. Peter’s Square.
Pope Benedict XVI died on Saturday, days after Pope Francis had asked the public to pray for Benedict's well-being as his condition worsened.
Benedict sent shockwaves through the world in February 2013 when he became the first Pope in 600 years to resign from the post, stating he no longer had the strength to lead the 1.2-billion member Roman Catholic church.
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His dramatic decision paved the way for the conclave that elected Pope Francis as his successor. The two popes then lived side-by-side in the Vatican gardens, an unprecedented arrangement that set the stage for future “popes emeritus” to do the same.
And now Francis will celebrate Benedict's funeral Mass on Thursday, the first time in the modern age that a current pope will eulogize a retired one. As tributes poured in from political and religious leaders around the world, Francis himself praised Benedict’s “kindness” Saturday and thanked him for “his testimony of faith and prayer, especially in these final years of retired life.”
On the eve of the first of three days of viewing, Italian security officials had said at least 25,000-30,000 people would come on Monday. But by the end of the first day's viewing, some 65,000 persons had passed by the bier, the Vatican said.
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As daylight broke, 10 white-gloved Papal Gentlemen — lay assistants to pontiffs and papal households — carried the body on a cloth-covered wooden stretcher after its arrival at the basilica to its resting place in front of the main altar under Bernini's towering bronze canopy.
Before the rank-and-file faithful were allowed into the basilica, prayers were recited and the basilica's archpriest, Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, sprinkled holy water over the body, and a small cloud of incense was released near the bier. Benedict's hands were clasped, a rosary around his fingers.
Faithful and curious, the public strode briskly up the center aisle to pass by the bier with its cloth draping after waiting in a line that by midmorning snaked around St. Peter's Square.
Benedict's body was dressed with a miter, the peaked headgear of a bishop, and a red cloak.
Filippo Tuccio, 35, said he came from Venice on an overnight train to view Benedict's body.
“I wanted to pay homage to Benedict because he had a key role in my life and my education,” Tuccio said.
“When I was young I participated in World Youth Days,'' he said, referring to the jamborees of young faithful held periodically and attended by pontiffs. Tuccio added that he had studied theology, and “his pontificate accompanied me during my university years.”
“He was very important for me: for what I am, my way of thinking, my values," Tuccio continued.
Among those coming to the basilica viewing was Cardinal Walter Kasper, like Benedict, a German theologian. Kasper served as head of the Vatican’s Christian unity office during Benedict's papacy.
Benedict left an “important mark” on theology and spirituality, but also on the history of the papacy with his courage to step aside, Kasper told The Associated Press.
“This resignation wasn’t a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength, a greatness because he saw that he was no longer up to the challenges of being pope,” Kasper said.
Kasper, who was among the cardinals who elected Benedict to the papacy in 2005, added that the resignation gave "a more human vision to the papacy: that the pope is a man and is dependent on his physical and mental strengths.”
A written account of the history-making papacy of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI will be placed alongside his body in his coffin for burial, the Vatican said Tuesday in revealing plans for the first funeral of a pontiff to resign in six centuries.
After the public viewing concludes at 7 p.m. (1800 GMT) on Wednesday, "the coffin will be closed, with a special rite,'' Bruni said. Benedict's body will be placed in a coffin hewn from cypress, then put into a zinc coffin that will be sealed in a second wooden casket.
It will be brought out of the basilica and into the square about 40 minutes before Thursday's funeral, as the crowd gathered for the service recites the rosary for Benedict, who served as pontiff from April 2005 through February 2013.
Since Benedict was no longer head of Vatican City State, in contrast to protocols for funerals of popes who died while still reigning, only two countries — Italy and his native Germany — will send official delegations, according to the Vatican.
