Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. (1927-2022) was buried in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica on Thursday. According to media reports, up to 100,000 believers came to the previous funeral service on St. Peter’s Square in Rome, where the coffin was first taken in the morning.
Numerous people also traveled from Germany, including some top politicians: Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (64), Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (67) and Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (56) paid their last respects to the former head of the Catholic Church.
In the funeral service, the successor of Benedict XVI, Pope Francis (86), paid tribute to the “wisdom”, the “sensitivity” and the “devotion” that Benedict “knew to give us over the years”.
According to media reports, the burial in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Grottoes, is said to have taken place behind closed doors. The tomb of Benedict XVI. was previously the resting place of John Paul II (1920-2005). After his beatification, his remains were reburied inside the basilica.
Joseph Ratzinger, like Benedict XVI. whose real name was called, was the incumbent Pope from 2005 to 2013. In 2013, he became the first pope since 1294 to resign voluntarily and since then has lived in seclusion in a monastery in the Vatican. He died on December 31, 2022 at the age of 95.
