Benedict XVI

is dead: tens of thousands say goodbye - including Italian Prime Minister Meloni on site

Created: 01/03/2023 04:49

By: Stefanie Fischhaber, Armin Linder

After the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

thousands of believers flock to the Vatican.

His body is laid out there.

• Bavarian delegation

  travels to Rome:

  Markus Söder wants to travel to the Vatican for the funeral service on Thursday.

• Pope's body

  laid

  out in the Vatican

  : huge queues at dawn

• Vatican

  releases

  Benedict XVI 's

  last words

  : Nurse heard

  'Lord I love you'

• 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 2, 10:30 p.m.:

Two days after the death of Benedict XVI.

tens of thousands of people in the Vatican bid farewell to the former Pope.

Already at dawn on Monday, a long line of mourners formed on St. Peter's Square, who wanted to pay their last respects to the former head of the Catholic Church.

The retired German Pope was laid out in St. Peter's Basilica until Wednesday.

The event was accompanied by a large security presence.

"I've been here since 6 a.m.," Italian nun Anna-Maria told AFP.

She thinks it's "normal to come and pay my last respects after everything he's done for the church."

Francesca Gabrielli, who came all the way from Tuscany to say goodbye to the former pope, praised the "reverent atmosphere" in St. Peter's Basilica.

The Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was also one of the first visitors.

The ultra-right politician was welcomed by Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Benedict XVI's private secretary.

Bavarian delegation travels to Rome: Söder attends funeral service for Pope Benedict XVI.

part

Update from January 2, 1:20 p.m

.: With a Bavarian delegation, Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) wants to go to the funeral service for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on Thursday.

travel to Rome.

"It is a great honor, also for many who will be there, to take part in the requiem," said Söder on Monday after he had written a book of condolence for the recently deceased in Munich.

Representatives from politics, church and society should therefore fly to Rome from all over Bavaria.

Joseph Ratzinger, as his real name was, came from Marktl in Upper Bavaria.

"We were all very proud at the time that he became pope," said Söder.

"All of Bavaria was looking forward to it, especially because he always carried his Bavarian homeland in his heart."

One mourns therefore "not only for a great theologian, but simply for a real Bavarian".

Benedikt was a "very, very alert spirit", with a "big heart" and "nevertheless great modesty," said Söder.

"I liked and admired him."

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI with Markus Söder (archive photo) © Daniel Karmann/dpa

Update from January 2, 11:24 a.m

.: The lawsuit against Pope Benedict XVI.

at the district court of Traunstein continues there even after his death - at least for the time being.

"Although the death of a party basically results in an interruption in accordance with Section 239 of the Code of Civil Procedure," said court spokeswoman Andrea Titz on Monday.

"In the present case, however, this does not apply because the deceased was represented by a legal representative."

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In the summer of last year, a man who said he was abused by the convicted repeat offender Priest H. in Garching an der Alz brought a civil action, a so-called declaratory action, at the Traunstein District Court.

It is directed not only against Ratzinger, who was then archbishop of Munich and Freising when the abuser was transferred to his diocese - but also against the convicted man himself, the archdiocese and Ratzinger's successor in the office of archbishop, Cardinal Friedrich Wetter.

The aim of the lawsuit is, among other things, to determine whether diocese officials have covered up crimes and thus made further crimes possible.

"The lawsuit will be continued with the heir or heirs of the deceased," said the plaintiff's lawyer, Andreas Schulz, of the German Press Agency.

Pope's body laid out in the Vatican - huge queues at dawn

Update from January 2, 9.15 a.m

.: On the occasion of the laying out of the late former Pope Benedict XVI.

thousands of believers have flocked to the Vatican in St. Peter's Basilica.

As early as dawn, a long line of people formed on St. Peter's Square who wanted to personally say goodbye to the former head of the Catholic Church.

The event was accompanied by a large security presence, numerous media representatives from all over the world were on site.

On New Year's Day, Benedict's body was first laid out in the chapel of the Mater Ecclesiae monastery in the Vatican before the body was brought to St. Peter's Basilica in a private ceremony early Monday morning. There the public can personally say goodbye to the Bavarian-born man between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m take clergy.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, visitors are allowed access from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Admission is free and requires no reservation.

Worshipers wait early in the morning to see the body of the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI laid out in St. Peter's Basilica.

The emeritus pope died at the age of 95: © Michael Kappeler/dpa

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

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 the Munich Cathedral of Our Lady, 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

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 Mater Ecclesiae monastery.

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.