Rome is fortified, the faithful say their last farewell to Ratzinger

2023-01-02 10:10:45Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

Rome is fortified, the faithful say their last farewell to Ratzinger

The Italian capital, Rome, has started the first Monday of the new year 2023 under tight security measures. Tens of thousands of believers from all over the world have arrived in Rome to pay their respects and say their last goodbyes to the Honorable Pope Benedict XVI, who passed away on the morning of December 31.

How will the funeral of Pope Ratzinger take place? This is where the former head of the Vatican will be buried.
From 9:00 a.m. today in St. Peter's Basilica, the ritual of honoring has begun, which will continue for three consecutive days until Thursday, January 5, 2023, when the funeral ceremony to take place.

The prefect of Rome, Bruno Frattasi, has informed that there are about 35 thousand believers who have arrived in Rome to honor the Honorable Pope on the day of the funeral, whose ceremony will start at 9.30 am on Thursday, and will led by Pope Francis, around 60,000 more believers are expected to arrive.

The prefect of Rome has informed that a plan of security measures has been designed and has been implemented since this morning and there are about 1000 police troops who have started patrolling the main roads leading to St. Peter's Square in the Vatican, as well as in strategic points of the city.

The faithful, who have been positioned around the walls of the Vatican since the early hours of this morning, will follow a certain movement protocol, being allowed to enter the side part of the Basilica, while their exit will be in the central part.

As for the death ceremony, everything is new for the Holy See, since never before has it happened that a Pope celebrates the death mass of an Honorary Pope.

According to the will bequeathed by Pope Benedict XVI, the death ceremony will be simple and will be solemnly official.

From the morning of December 31, 2022, when he passed away, until today, when he arrived at St. Peter's Basilica, the body of Pope Joseph Ratzinger has remained in the monastery of Mater Ecclessiae. 


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