Vatican, 31 December, 2022 / 9:02 pm (ACI Africa).
Benedict XVI will be buried in the crypt under St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican said Saturday afternoon.
Benedict’s death, at the age of 95, was announced in Rome on Dec. 31. His body will lie in state in St. Peter’s Basilica from the morning of Monday, Jan. 2, 2023, until his funeral Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Jan. 5, 2023.
The tombs in the Vatican crypt are close to the remains of the Catholic Church’s first pope, St. Peter the Apostle.
Benedict XVI’s remains will stay at Mater Ecclesiae Monastery until Jan. 2, 2022, the Vatican said. No official visits or public prayers are planned.
His body will lie in state from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Jan. 2, 2023, and from 7 a.m to 7 p.m. on Jan. 3 and 4, 2023, in St. Peter’s Basilica, where members of the public may pay their final respects.
