Pope Emeritus is dead: Vatican publishes video and last words of Josef Ratzinger
Created: 2023-01-02 04:45
By: Stefanie Fischhaber, Armin Linder
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
is dead, he passed away at the age of 95.
The Vatican officially announced this on Saturday.
Vatican
releases
Benedict XVI 's
last words
: Nurse heard
'Lord I love you'
Laying out
of
Past
Benedict XVI
: Vatican shares first images of body
Pope Benedict XVI
.
is
dead
: The Pope Emeritus died on Saturday (December 31) in the Vatican.
This
news ticker
on the
death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
is updated regularly.
Update from January 1, 7:24 p.m .:
The Vatican news portal “Vatican News” published a video of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who died on Saturday. You can see the body of Josef Ratzinger.
The video shared Vatican News on Twitter with a prayer.
Death of Benedict XVI: Vatican publishes last words of Josef Ratzinger
Update from January 1, 7:03 p.m
.: After the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
there are more details about his last words on the deathbed.
Around 3:00 a.m., a nurse heard the words, the Vatican's own media portal Vatican News wrote on Sunday evening.
According to his private secretary Georg Gänswein, Ratzinger whispered, but they were understandable.
In Italian he is said to have said: "Lord, I love you".
"Those were his last understandable words because he couldn't express himself afterwards," said Gänswein, who said he wasn't with Benedikt at the time.
The nurse told him about it shortly afterwards.
The Argentine newspaper La Nación, citing informed sources, previously reported that Benedict's last words were "Jesus, I love you".
Emeritus Pope is dead: Vatican publishes first pictures of Josef Ratzinger's body
Update from January 1, 4:20 p.m .:
The late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
is laid out in the chapel of the Vatican Monastery Mater Ecclesiae.
The Holy See published the first photos of the body.
The pictures show Joseph Ratzinger in a red liturgical robe and the traditional miter headgear.
In his clasped hands he holds a rosary.
Next to him in front of the chapel altar are a decorated Christmas tree and a crib, as can be seen in the photos published on Sunday.
The late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
is laid out in the chapel of the Mater Ecclesiae monastery in the Vatican.
© Vatican Media/dpa
also read
Blast in Russia: Ukraine carries out threats - London sees signs of weakness
READ
'Russia is dying': Russians fighting Putin in Ukraine - 'They are doing their jobs perfectly'
READ
"Conveyor belt of death" in Bachmut: air raid alarm triggered due to drone attacks in the Ukraine war
READ
NATO chief Stoltenberg sees signs of Russia's 'new offensive'
READ
Kazakhstan "new front" for Putin?
Russian hardliner sees danger from ex-Soviet state
READ
Fancy a voyage of discovery?
My space
Pope Emeritus is dead: Francis pays tribute to "generous and kind person" at New Year's Mass
Update from January 1st, 12.30 p.m .:
One day after the death of Benedict XVI.
Pope Francis remembered his predecessor in the Vatican.
He entrusts "the beloved Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI." to the Virgin Mary, said Francis at his New Year's Mass in St. Peter's Basilica.
Pope Francis prayed at the New Year's Mass that Saint Mary Benedict XVI.
"accompanied from this world to God".
On January 1st, the Catholic Church celebrates the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.
On Saturday, Pope Francis praised his predecessor as a "generous and kind person" and declared that he was "grateful for all the good he has done".
Pope Francis (l) and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
talk in December 2018 in the monastery "Mater Ecclesiae".
© Vatican Media/dpa/Archive
The death of Benedict XVI
has triggered a concerned reaction worldwide, which also dealt with the criticism directed against him because of the abuse scandal in the Catholic Church.
Until his funeral on Thursday in the crypt under St. Peter's Basilica, the body of Benedict XVI.
be laid out in St. Peter's Basilica from Monday morning.
In the Apostolic Nunciature in Berlin, the diplomatic representation of the Holy See in Germany, a book of condolences for the former Pope will be available from Monday.
In his homeland of Bavaria, the deceased will be commemorated on Tuesday evening with a solemn requiem in Munich's Liebfrauendom, as the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising announced.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
is dead – “Jesus, I love you”
Update from December 31, 10:17 p.m .:
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI should have his last words before his death on Saturday morning.
apparently spoke in German.
According to informed sources, the Argentine newspaper
La Nacion
said the Pope apparently said "Jesus, I love you" before falling asleep at 9:34 a.m. in his room on the first floor of the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican Gardens.
Emeritus Pope is dead: In a spiritual testament he asks for forgiveness and a prayer
Update from December 31, 9:08 p.m .:
After the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
contents of his spiritual testament have now become known.
The letter, dated August 29, 2006, when Benedict was still Pope, was released by the Vatican on Saturday night.
In his will, Benedict XVI thanks
first of all God, who gave him life and led him through many tribulations.
"Pray for me that the Lord will let me into the eternal mansions in spite of all my sins and shortcomings," asked Pope Francis' predecessor.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
died on December 31st.
© IMAGO/Ondrej Deml/CTK Photo
At the same time, in his will, he above all asks for forgiveness.
He speaks of "dark and arduous stretches" of his path, on which the Lord guided him well.
"I sincerely apologize to anyone I have wronged in any way," he wrote.
The emeritus pope also dedicated himself to his "beautiful homeland in the Bavarian foothills of the Alps".
"I pray that our country remains a land of faith and I ask you, dear compatriots: do not let yourselves be diverted from the faith," declared Benedict in his spiritual testament.
To his companions he addressed the demand: “Stand firm in your faith!
Don't get confused!"
More details on the funeral of Benedict XVI.
and ceremony known
Update from December 31, 5:11 p.m .:
The Vatican gave further details about the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
announced next Thursday (January 5).
As reported by the Holy See, Benedict XVI.
buried after the public funeral service on St. Peter's Square in the crypt below St. Peter's Basilica.
The German had wished to be buried at the spot where Pope John Paul II first found his resting place after his death, before he was brought to a chapel in St. Peter's Basilica after his beatification.
The Vatican also announced further details of the ceremony: The requiem, which begins at 9:30 a.m., will be led by Pope Francis.
Believers can attend the celebration;
no tickets are required for the open-air event.
The Vatican only invited two official delegations from other countries to the funeral mass, namely from Benedict's home country Germany and from Italy.
As pope, Benedict was automatically bishop of Rome.
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has already announced himself.
The city of Rome expects up to 60,000 people to attend the funeral service for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
want to participate next Thursday.
389770238.jpg © Andreas Arnold/ dpa
The Pope's body will remain in the former Mater Ecclesiae monastery in the Vatican Gardens, where Benedict has resided since his resignation in 2013, until Monday morning (January 2).
Then the remains are taken to St. Peter's Basilica.
From Monday at 9:00 a.m., believers can then say goodbye to the native of Bavaria.
St. Peter's Basilica remains open to visitors on Monday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Tuesday and Wednesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
After the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI: Bundestag lowers flags to half-mast
Update from December 31, 3:17 p.m .:
After the death of former Pope Benedict XVI.
The flags were set at half-mast on Saturday at the Reichstag building in Berlin.
This was done in consultation with the Federal Ministry of the Interior, said a spokesman for the Bundestag.
Three days before his death: Pope Benedict XVI.
received anointing of the sick
Update from December 31, 2:27 p.m .:
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
received the Anointing of the Sick on December 28, three days before his death.
This was announced by Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni on Saturday afternoon.
That Wednesday was also the day when Pope Francis, in his general audience, called on the faithful to pray for his predecessor, who he said was very ill.
The anointing of the sick is a sacrament in the Catholic Church, also known as the last rites.
Funeral service for Benedict XVI: Pope Francis holds funeral service on January 5
Update from December 31, 2:10 p.m .:
As the Vatican announced, the funeral service for the late Pope Benedict XVI.
on Thursday (January 5th).
Pope Francis will celebrate the funeral service for Papa Emeritus at around 9:30 a.m. in St. Peter's Square in Rome.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
himself had wished for a simple ceremony for his own funeral service before his death.
The requiem in St. Peter's Square next Thursday will therefore be "solemn but simple," said Matteo Bruni, spokesman for the Vatican.
The former pope from Germany explicitly asked for simplicity in connection with the burial and the associated rituals.
Death of Benedict XVI: The deceased Pope will be laid out in St. Peter's Basilica from Monday
Update from December 31, 12:31 p.m .:
After death
of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
Believers can say goodbye to this from January 2nd.
The Vatican announced on Saturday.
The deceased clergyman will be laid out in St. Peter's Basilica from Monday.
In this way, the public can also bid farewell to Joseph Ratzinger.
Chancellor Scholz expresses condolences: Benedict XVI.
was a “formative figure of the Catholic Church”
Update from December 31, 11:24 a.m .:
After the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke up and expressed his condolences.
“As a 'German' pope, Benedict XVI.
for many not only in this country a special church leader.
The world loses a formative figure of the Catholic Church, a controversial personality and a clever theologian.
My thoughts are with Pope Francis,” the German head of government paid tribute to the deceased.
Benedict XVI became Pope.
voluntarily - now he died at the age of 95
First report from December 31st:
Rome/Vatican City – Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
is dead. "It is with great pain that I have to announce that Benedict XVI, Pope Emeritus, passed away today at 9:34 a.m. in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican," said the spokesman for the Holy See, Matteo Bruni.
The state of health of the native of Bavaria had recently deteriorated.
He has now passed away at the age of 95.
Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope on April 19, 2005, succeeding John Paul II.
Benedict was the first German pope in about 480 years.
Almost eight years later, he resigned voluntarily in a spectacular step - as the first pope for more than 700 years.
He justified the step with his advanced age and his poor health - he lacked the strength for the demanding office, he said at the time.
During the pontificate of his successor Francis, Benedict lived in seclusion in a monastery in the Vatican Gardens.
During his pontificate, Benedict continued the conservative course of his predecessor.
He resisted modernizing the church, which brought him a lot of criticism.
The initial enthusiasm of the Germans waned.
His tenure was overshadowed above all by abuse scandals that plunged the Catholic Church into a deep crisis.
Benedict shaped the Catholic Church long before the beginning of his pontificate.
As Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome, Cardinal Ratzinger, born on April 16, 1927 in Marktl am Inn in Upper Bavaria, had already written church history for more than 20 years.
Numerous believers, especially in Europe, rejected his strict stance on issues such as birth control, abortion and celibacy.
In other parts of the Catholic world church, however, the conservative line found support.
Dealings of Pope Benedict XVI.
with cases of abuse caused criticism
In 2022, his own handling of cases of abuse during his time as Archbishop of Munich and Freising (1977-1982) also hit the headlines.
An abuse report commissioned by the Archdiocese of Munich accused him of misconduct in four cases.
A little later, Benedict apologized to all victims of sexual abuse in a public letter.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
is dead © Daniel Karmann/dpa/archive image
Previously, the retired pope had become quiet.
Although he was mentally fit into old age, as his private secretary Georg Gänswein repeatedly emphasized, his physical condition was severe.
Although he wanted to remain "hidden from the world", his writings on sensitive topics such as celibacy or abuse repeatedly fueled speculation that he probably did not agree with the course of his successor Francis, at least in part.
Benedikt has not made any public appearances recently.
He celebrated his 90th birthday again in 2017 with a delegation from his native Bavaria.
After that he only received occasional visits to the monastery Mater Ecclesiae.
In recent years he has, in his own words, been on a pilgrimage "home".
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
died: He probably suffered from kidney problems
France's usually well-informed Roman Catholic daily, La Croix, recently reported, citing multiple sources, that Benedict had been treated for kidney problems.
The Italian news agency Ansa had also reported possible kidney failure.
The Vatican did not comment on this.
It was said recently only that the situation was under control.
(dpa)
