World leaders bid farewell to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

<strong><em>Viktor Orbán was among world leaders to <em>visit St Peter’s Basilica in Rome on Tuesday, where he paid his respe</em>cts to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI</em></strong> Photo: all rights reserved VATICAN CITY (January 3, 2023) Heads of state, cardinals, bishops, priests, religious and lay faithful continued on Tuesday and Wednesday to bid farewell to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI as his body lies in state in St Peter’s Basilica ahead of his solemn funeral on Thursday.&nbsp; By Wednesday morning the Vatican estimated that well over 150,000 people had passed through the basilica to pay their respects to the late Pope Emeritus, whom many remember for his deep humility, clarity of thought and steadfast defence of the Catholic Faith. Photo: Vatican Media <strong>Viktor Orbán’s final farewell</strong> Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán personally paid his respects to Pope Benedict on Tuesday, joining Italy’s president Sergio Mattarella and prime minister Giorgia Meloni as the first state leaders to say their final farewells.&nbsp; The Hungarian prime minister arrived with his wife at 11 am and was accompanied by Hungary’s ambassador to the Holy See, Eduard Habsburg, and several Vatican officials.&nbsp; Photo: Diane Montagna Upon entering the basilica, the Hungarian prime minister was greeted by Pope Benedict’s longtime private secretary, Archbishop George Gänswein. As he approached the mortal remains of the Pope Emeritus Mr Orbán, who is a Calvinist, made the sign of the cross and then knelt silently with his wife in prayer for several minutes. Photo: Diane Montagna It is known that Mr Orbán had great respect for Pope Benedict. In a&nbsp;<a href="https://magyarnemzet.hu/belfold/2022/12/orban-viktor-xvi-benedek-paparol-beszelgeteseink-eros-befolyast-gyakoroltak-nezeteimre">telegram</a>&nbsp;sent to the Vatican following the death of the Pope Emeritus on 31 December, the Hungarian prime minister stressed that he will always be remembered as “an example of high spirituality”. In his missive he recalled with gratitude his private audience with Pope Benedict in 2010. He added that their conversations about faith, the sanctity of the family and the importance of defending their common Christian roots have since strongly influenced his views.&nbsp; “Now, in this time of mourning, we join in prayer and express our sincere condolences to the clergy and faithful of the Catholic Church,” wrote Mr Orbán. Photo: Diane Montagna Mr Orbán is said to have wished to say goodbye to Benedict XVI “personally and discreetly”. In comments to the&nbsp;<em>Catholic Herald</em>, Hungary’s ambassador to the Holy See, Eduard Habsburg, said: “It was an honour to accompany my prime minister and his wife and to pray side by side with them, and I was extremely grateful for his gesture in coming to pay his respects to Pope Benedict XVI.”&nbsp; Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni commented on the Hungarian prime minister’s visit, telling the&nbsp;<em>Catholic Herald</em>&nbsp;that the Vatican “welcomes and is glad to see all the civil authorities who have come to show their affection and pay their respects to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI".&nbsp; Hungary’s president, Katalin Novák, will represent the Central-European nation at the solemn funeral on Thursday in St Peter’s Square.&nbsp; <strong>Keeping vigil day and night&nbsp;</strong> The body of Benedict XVI will lie in state in St Peter’s Basilica for three days—with Swiss Guards, those who were close to the late Pope Emeritus, and Vatican personnel keeping vigil day and night. Shortly before sunrise on Monday, as crowds of clergy and faithful began to gather outside St Peter’s Basilica, Benedict XVI’s body was transported from his home at the <em>Mater Ecclesiæ</em> monastery in the Vatican Gardens to the papal basilica. Accompanied on foot by Archbishop Gänswein and the small family of attendants who have supported him for years, the procession was met at the “Door of Prayer” by the Regent of the Papal Household, the Master of Papal Liturgical Celebrations and the Dean of the Papal Antechamber. Ushers from the College of Papal Ceremonial served as pallbearers, carrying Pope Benedict’s body to the Altar of the Confession, where they placed it on a simple dais. Photo by Diane Montagna Before the basilica was opened to the public, Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of the basilica, led a ceremony allowing those closest to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI time to say goodbye quietly.&nbsp; Archbishop Gänswein kissed the late Pope’s hands, which were adorned with a rosary—the Marian devotion they often prayed together or with guests, during an afternoon stroll in the Vatican gardens. Photo: all rights reserved Benedict’s body was vested in red, a liturgical colour symbolizing the willingness to shed one’s blood for the faith and therefore used for papal burials. Notably absent, however, were the&nbsp;<em>pallium</em>, the papal crozier (called a&nbsp;<em>ferula</em>), and the red shoes normally worn by popes—all of which he set aside when he retired. More details of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s funeral were released on Tuesday. Pope Francis will “preside” at the funeral and deliver the homily, while Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals, will offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.&nbsp; Cardinals from around the world are expected to attend.&nbsp; Photo by Diane Montagna While the Vatican has not granted the late Pope Emeritus a state funeral—officially inviting only two delegations (from Italy and Germany)—a growing number of heads of state and dignitaries have announced their intention to attend. They include Spain’s Queen Sofia and Spanish minster of the presidency Félix Bolaños; the King of the Belgians; the presidents of Poland, Portugal, Hungary, and Slovenia; and Croatia’s foreign minister and minister of culture. In accord with Pope Benedict's wishes, after the funeral rites his body will be buried in the Vatican grottoes, in a tomb in which Pope John Paul II was initially interred before his remains were translated to the main body of the basilica a few days before his beatification in 2011. It is known that, as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict was a close friend and collaborator of Pope John Paul II, and some regard him as the “theological soul” of the Polish pope’s pontificate. Many, therefore, will see his burial as the end of an era. Yet, in his just-released&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2022-12/the-spiritual-testament-of-pope-emeritus-benedict-xvi.html">spiritual testament</a>, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI exhorts the faithful to “stand firm in the faith” and “not be confused”, saying: “Jesus Christ is truly the Way, the Truth, and the Life—and the Church, in all her shortcomings, is truly His Body."