VATICAN CITY (AP) – Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI ‘s body is lying in state in St. Peter’s Basilica as thousands of people lined up hours before dawn on Monday to pay their respects.
The doors of the basilica were swung open so the public, who had in some cases waited for hours in the dampness before dawn, could pay their respects to the late pontiff, who shocked the world in 2013 by retiring from the papacy, the first to do so in 600 years.
The frail, 95-year-old Benedict died Saturday morning in the Vatican monastery where he had lived since his retirement in 2013.
Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni (R) pays her respect to the body of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI laying in state at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, on January 2nd, 2023. Benedict, a conservative intellectual who in 2013 became the first pontiff in six centuries to resign, died on December 31st, 2022, at the age of 95. Thousands of Catholics began paying their respects on January 2nd, 2023 to former pope Benedict XVI at St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, at the start of three days of lying-in-state before his funeral. (Photo by TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images)
Filippo Tuccio, 35, came from Venice on an overnight train to view Benedict’s body.
“I wanted to pay homage to Benedict because he had a key role in my life and my education. I arrived here at around 7:30, after leaving Venice last night,” Tuccio said.
The body of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is laid out in public in St. Peter’s Basilica. The Pope Emeritus had died on Saturday at the age of 95. (Photo by Michael Kappeler/picture alliance via Getty Images)
“When I was young I participated in World Youth Days,” said the pilgrim, referring to the jamborees of young faithful held periodically and attended by pontiffs. Tuccio added that he had studied theology, and “[Benedict’s] pontificate accompanied me during my university years.”
“He was very important for me: for what I am, my way of thinking, my values. This is why I wanted to say goodbye today.”
The body of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is laid out in public in St. Peter’s Basilica. (Photo by Michael Kappeler/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Public viewing lasts for 10 hours on Monday in St. Peter’s Basilica. Twelve hours of viewing are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday before Thursday morning’s funeral, which will be led by Pope Francis, at St Peter’s Square.
Security officials expected at least 25,000 people to pass by the body on the first day of viewing.
People queue to pay their respects to late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI whose body lays in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, on January 2nd, 2023. (Photo by ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP via Getty Images)
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.