Pope Benedict’s funeral will make history tomorrow | World News

He made history during his lifetime, and now Pope Benedict XVI will do so when he dies.

The Vatican will hold the funeral of a previous Pope for the first time in centuries, with the current Pope presiding over it.

Three days later, Benedict’s body, dressed in a robe and holding a rosary, will start the morning. been on displayallowing tens of thousands of mourners to file past.

led by FrancisThe service will include traditional elements as well as some unique to this funeral.

A document in Latin detailing some of the most notable events of Benedict’s tenure will be buried with him, alongside coins and other papal insignia.

The service will begin with an introductory ceremony, wishing for “eternal rest and…eternal light”.

It will include reading Isaiah and St. Peter’s first letter.

It will call him “Pope Emeritus Benedict” and describe him as “Peter’s successor and shepherd of the Church, fearless preacher and faithful priest of the sacred mysteries”.

Benedict will be buried in a traditional triple coffin made of cypress and then wrapped in zinc before another wooden coffin.

He will be buried in the crypt beneath St Peter’s Basilica, in the same area as the coffin of his predecessor, Pope John Paul II.

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The funeral of the pope emeritus will be different from the one held after the death of the current pope.

Only two international delegations have been formally invited – from Italy, where the Vatican is located, and from Germany, the native country of Benedict XVI, formerly known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

Germany is likely to send its president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Many countries will still send senior officials to the event. The UK will be represented by Education Secretary Gillian Keegan. The King of Belgium and Queen of Spain will be in attendance.

The funeral will be watched by a large audience around the world.

For some observers, this will be an occasion to reflect a more modern view of the pope, as a role that could rightly be relinquished in favor of a younger, more suitable successor.

For others, though, it will reawaken two fundamental questions—first, whether Benedict set a precedent for the job to be a shorter-term role rather than one that was brought to death roles; and second, how the attitude of Pope Francis will change now that he has become the only living ordained pope.

On the one hand, it might encourage him to further pursue his own initiative and way of thinking, as the ghost of his predecessor (who lived in a converted Vatican monastery during his retirement) has passed.

On the other hand, however, some believe that Francis, who has been plagued by health problems himself, may soon begin to wonder whether he, too, would be willing to step down from leadership of the Catholic Church and follow the example of Benedict’s retirement.

Francis will perform this service in a wheelchair.

These are the questions that follow today’s funeral.But for now, the focus is on one thing – the somber process of saying goodbye to the man who led them for almost a decade for more than a billion Catholics around the world