135,000 people pay their last respects to Ratzinger – World

After counting 65,000 people on the first day, Vatican police said another 70,000 people came to St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday, where Benedict’s body had been in state for three days. Many pilgrims came from different regions of Italy and different countries.

The pope emeritus was placed until Wednesday evening. The funeral, which Pope Francis celebrated on Thursday, is scheduled to be attended by more than 70,000 people. Benedict XVI’s cypress coffin will be unveiled on Wednesday night. closed. Inside are coins minted during his pontificate. The coffin was then placed in a zinc coffin and sealed. The Vatican said this would be placed in another wooden coffin and then buried.

Preparations for the funeral are in full swing in the Vatican. Monarchs, nobles, heads of state, and clergy travel from all over the world to attend the funeral of the Pope Emeritus. White House spokeswoman Karen Jean-Pierre said the US ambassador to the Vatican, Joe Donnelly, will represent the United States at the funeral ceremony.

Austria is represented by former Federal President Heinz Fischer. Federal President Alexander van der Bellen asked Fischer to take part in the funeral ceremony in Rome, the president’s office said Tuesday upon request. Fisher was under Pope Benedict XVI. The Federal President was also at his inauguration ceremony and on an official visit to the Vatican. Benedict’s official papal visit in 2007 also fell during Fisher’s tenure. Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Salzburg Franz Lackner presiding over the Bishops’ Conference and Archbishop Wilhelm Krautwaschl of Graz will participate in the funeral service as representatives of the Church in Austria.

Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, President of the Bundestag Bärbel Bass and Prime Minister of Bavaria Markus Söder come from Germany to see off the German Pope. Also expected are Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Souza and his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda, as well as a delegation from the Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople. Hungary is represented by Prime Minister Viktor Orban and President Katalin Novak.

Benedict XVI died on New Year’s Eve at the age of 95. On New Year’s Day, the deceased was first laid to rest in the monastery church of Mater Ecclesiae in the Vatican before the body was brought to St. Peter’s Basilica in a private ceremony early Monday morning. There, the corpse, dressed in a red and gold robe and a gold-edged cowl, was placed on a lectern before the main altar, with the Swiss Guard standing there.