Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD: Pope Francis on Thursday joined pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square to lead the funeral of his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI, who quit the papacy in 2013 on health grounds.
The dome of St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican was covered in a haze when the cypress-wood coffin containing the late Pope’s body was brought out and placed on the steps.
A large number of the faithful had gathered for the funeral.
Clergies from around the world had come, monks and nuns in their dark robes and cardinals in red vestments
The mood was subdued and solemn as the Latin chants by the Sistine Chapel choir echoed across the square.
Almost 50,000 mourners come to the Pope’s funeral
According to police about 50,000 mourners came to the Pope’s funeral. Official delegations from Italy and the pope’s home country Germany also arrived. Other leaders, including a royal couple of Belgium, attended in a private capacity.
The death of Benedict brought to an end the era of a pope and former pope living side by side in the Vatican, an unprecedented situation after Benedict’s resignation almost a decade ago.
Over the past few days, about 200,000 people came to the Vatican to pay their respect to the Pope.
There was no display of the usual papal regalia such as the silver staff, a sign that Benedict was no longer a pope at the time of death.
