At the time of his death, on 31 December, the bells of St. Peter’s were not rung in mourning: their tolling had in fact already echoed throughout Rome on the evening of 28 February 2013, the last day of his pontificate, when just before sunset the white helicopter took off from the Vatican heliport to Castel Gandolfo, where Benedict XVI spent the hours and days following his historic resignation. The see remained vacant then, not today that a Pope, Francis, presides over the funeral mass of his predecessor, Benedict.
In a microcosm like the Vatican, where symbols have settled over the centuries and no liturgical choice is left to chance, the details accurately tell the last chapter of the cohabitation that has marked the Catholic Church in these ten years. An unprecedented situation, made up of analogies and distinctions: Joseph Ratzinger continued to wear white, and decided to be “Pope” emeritus, not, for example, bishop emeritus of Rome, or cardinal again; but as of March 13, 2013, there is only one Pope, Jorge Mario Bergoglio. What will now follow a ceremonial chiseled to the last to pay Benedict all the honors he deserves, without however leaving room for doubt that he was still the holder of the Petrine “munus”.
An impervious road, which arouses some discontent among hard-core Ratzingerians, but in reality reflects Ratzinger’s own choice to retire to live in an almost monastic style in the Mater Ecclesiae monastery, inside the Vatican. In 2005 the announcement of the death of John Paul II was accompanied by a medical certificate which explained the causes of his death and detailed his last hours, today the communication has been more laconic, and in the Vatican it is noted that for a death occurred at the age of 95 there are not many explanations to give.
The body did not arrive in the Vatican basilica with a public procession, as happened with Karol Wojtyla, but with a discreet ceremony before dawn. The vestments with which she is covered are red, a sign of papal mourning, but the Pope Emeritus does not wear the episcopal pallium or embrace the ferrule of reigning Pontiff. He no longer has the fisherman’s ring, destroyed with the end of his pontificate, but his episcopal ring.
The influx of 65,000 people on Monday and 70,000 yesterday, double those initially hypothesized, shows that even Benedict, a theologian not inclined to crowds and popular approval, arouses the affection of many simple faithful, even if the numbers are incomparable with the death of his Polish predecessor, who attracted 600,000 visitors to the basilica every day. In newsstands around the Vatican it is still easy to find postcards of Wojtyla, those of Francis abound, those of Benedict are almost absent.
Tomorrow’s liturgical celebration “will follow the model of the funeral of the Supreme Pontiff, with some original elements and some missing ones”, explained the Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, with “adaptations that some will consider large, others smaller”. The prayers are “remodulated”, the two final “supplications” are absent, that of the Church of Rome and that of the Eastern Churches. Please for the emeritus: “Let us say our last goodbyes and entrust to God, the merciful Father and great in love, Pope Emeritus Benedict”.
The last step will be very similar to that of a reigning Pope: the medals and coins minted during his Pontificate, the palliums of his episcopal ministries, and the “deed” will be placed in the cypress coffin, already closed this evening. a text in Latin which briefly describes the pontificate. The coffin will be taken to the Vatican grottoes for burial, in what was the sarcophagus of John Paul II before it was moved next to Michelangelo’s Pietà following the beatification. As it is not the Pope’s funeral, tomorrow is not a public holiday in the Papal States: “Employees of the Roman Curia and of the Governorate”, reads a circular, will be able to participate “freely, even if during working hours”.