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Benedict XVI
on All Saints' Day in front of the then tomb of John Paul II - this is where Benedict himself is to rest in the future (archive photo from 2008)
Photo: A1809 epa ansa Oss Romano/ dpa
The final resting place is now certain: Benedict XVI.
is buried in the former tomb of his predecessor John Paul II.
This was confirmed by the spokesman for the Holy See, Matteo Bruni.
The tomb is in the crypt of St. Peter's Basilica.
The body will be taken there on Thursday.
Before that, Pope Francis wants to hold a big funeral service with tens of thousands of people outside the basilica.
Benedict died on Saturday morning at the age of 95.
Ratzinger's biographer, the journalist Peter Seewald, had reported in the summer of 2020 that the resigning pontiff chose the former tomb of John Paul II.
After his beatification in 2011, the mortal remains of the former pontiff were moved.
He rests next to Michelangelo's Pietà in St. Peter's Basilica.
His tomb in the grottoes is therefore free.
Since the morning, believers in St. Peter's Basilica of Benedict XVI.
saying goodbye.
He was publicly laid out there after his death.
Shortly after 9 a.m., the doors of the great basilica in the Vatican opened.
In front of the church and the security checks, people stood in line for a long time - some had been waiting since night.
The gates of St. Peter's Basilica should be open to visitors on Monday until 7 p.m., on Tuesday and Wednesday people can go into the church and pass the Benedict in state from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
On Thursday at 9.30 a.m. the big funeral service is planned, which Pope Francis himself wants to celebrate.
According to the prefecture of Rome, up to 60,000 people are expected to attend the requiem, which Benedict wanted to keep simple.
Steinmeier travels to the funeral
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has already announced that he will be coming from Germany.
The Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) also said that he would come with a delegation.
Ratzinger comes from Marktl am Inn in Bavaria.
The Vatican officially invited delegations from Germany and Italy.
However, politicians or diplomats can also come from other countries.
In addition, many high clergymen are expected, such as Benedict's companions and those cardinals whom he raised to the cardinal rank.
wit/dpa/AFP