As always, things are bustling on St. Peter’s Square. Tourists stand in a long line in front of the entrance controls of St. Peter’s Basilica, many take photos and selfies. Children and adults marvel at the huge Christmas tree and the large wooden crib in front of it. Souvenir traders advertise small Vatican souvenirs on their mobile stands.
24 hours after the news broke that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. should be very ill, nothing seems like a state of emergency on St. Peter’s Square. A few cameras have been set up outside the barrier to the square; German TV teams film the goings-on in front of the cathedral and keep an eye out for visitors from home. The public broadcaster Rai has also set up camera platforms and broadcasting vehicles – not because of Benedict, but because of the upcoming New Year’s Mass by Francis.
Condition still serious but stable
Positive news came from behind the mighty Vatican walls of the former monastery Mater Ecclesiae. “The Pope Emeritus recovered well last night, he is perfectly lucid and awake, and today his condition, while still serious, is stable,” said Matteo Bruni, spokesman for the Holy See. But Francis continues to ask for prayers for Benedict, who is cared for by his longtime companion and private secretary Georg Gänswein, four women from a religious lay association and doctors.
“He is very ill” – with this comment about his predecessor, Pope Francis had startled the Catholic Church and some believers on Wednesday. “We heard about it from the media; that affected us a lot,” says a German visitor from Saarland. He has been coming to Rome regularly for many years and has also met Benedict personally, for example at general audiences. “We hope that the state of health will improve, but we fear that it will probably not be the case,” says the man and says that he prayed for Benedict, as requested by Francis.
Many high clergymen and dioceses around the world, from Argentina to the USA and Canada to France and Belgium, had responded to the request. In Rome, where Benedict was also a bishop as pope, and in his home country of Germany, prayers were made for the clergyman who was born Joseph Ratzinger.
Holy Mass in the Lateran
In the Lateran Basilica, one of the five papal basilicas in Rome, a Holy Mass for Benedict will be celebrated this Friday evening, as the Holy See announced. However, Pope Francis is not expected. The 86-year-old Argentine had already visited Benedict on Wednesday after his statements from the general audience.
As can be heard from people who know Benedict better, Francis’ speech also surprised many in the Vatican and especially around Mater Ecclesiae. Some observers suspect that the Argentine didn’t really want to convey that the situation was so bad for Papa Emeritus or that he was even dying. Rather, he wanted to ask the faithful to pray for Benedict, who was already very old and weak. The Vatican did not confirm reports that the German had difficulty breathing or that important vital functions were slowly declining.
“He meant a lot to me personally and gave a lot in the past,” says the German visitor from Saarland. “It affects me a lot.” His wife also reports the sadness she feels about the developments. A man from Berlin, who is visiting Rome with his family, says: “Of course, as a German, that affects you a bit.”
A married couple from Dresden reports that they learned about the news about Benedict from the TV news. However, the two did not quite understand the exact details in the Italian program and therefore “only took note of them”, as the man says. “We are not religious,” adds the woman. The two stroll across the Campo Santo Teutonico, the German cemetery right next to St. Peter’s Basilica. Benedict also always liked to be in the cemetery, where it was very quiet and devotional on Thursday – in contrast to the hectic hustle and bustle only a few hundred meters away.
Colorful mix of languages on St. Peter’s Basilica
More and more people are queuing for the cathedral in St. Peter’s Square. A colorful mix of languages can be heard, people speak Italian, English, Spanish and Polish. You rarely hear German. Some sit on the ground next to the large obelisks in the middle of the square, many are engrossed in their mobile phones.
In 2005, too, Catholics were seen sitting on the ground in St. Peter’s Square – when Pope John Paul II was seriously ill at the end of his life. Hundreds of young people stayed in the square even at night, singing and playing the guitar. Nuns gathered for collective prayers. The impressive and touching scenes were sometimes broadcast live around the world for hours. At that time, the situation from now on in the twilight years of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. don’t compare.
