A funeral was held in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican for the 95-year-old former Pope Benedict XVI, who died on December 31. About 50,000 people, including cardinals, nuns, and thousands of priests, attended the funeral of the Pope, whose full name was Joseph Ratzinger. Also attending were high-level state officials, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. After the funeral, which lasted for about 1.5 hours, the body of Benedict was interred in a tomb in the crypt beneath the Basilica of San Pietro, accompanied by applause. Until the ceremony held today, the body of Pope Benedict XVI was exhibited in St. Peter’s Basilica for 72 hours, and approximately 200,000 people had visited it.
Furthermore, Benedict resigned in 2013, citing his old age in the aftermath of sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church, becoming the first pope to resign in 600 years.
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