It was a chilly & foggy morning in Vatican City on 5th January, a somber day for the city state as they laid Pope Benedict XVI to rest.
St Peter’s Square welcomed world leaders and dignitaries from across the globe, including a small delegation of royals, led by King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians and Queen Sofía of Spain.
The funeral service began at 9:25am local time, but guests gathered in the square well before that, with the royals arriving at around 8:50am, together with representatives of various countries from around the world.
Queen Mathilde was wearing the traditional black lace veil, whereas Queen Sofía of Spain left her hair uncovered. At several points, all the royals were seen quietly wiping their noses, as the cold was bitter.
The funeral service was presided over by Pope Francis, and celebrated by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, from Brescia, in northern Italy. A mix of several different languages was used – mainly Latin and Italian, with the first reading from the Old Testament reading being offered in Spanish (the native language of the current Pope) and the second reading from the New Testament being offered in English.
The rest of the prayers were offered in German, the language of Pope Benedict XVI, who was from Munich, as well as French, Arabic and Portuguese.
The Belgian and Spanish royals were sitting alongside the Italian delegation, guided by President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. On their other side was the German delegation, headed by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Once Pope Benedict XVI’s coffin was taken away to be buried within the Vatican Cave, the authorities, including the royals, were seen orderly leaving the Square.
Despite some anticipating a much larger presence of authorities, the Belgians and the Spaniards were the only two countries that sent members of their Royal Families. Both are devote Catholics, but they’re not the only catholic royal families in Europe; the Principalities of Liechtenstein and Monaco, and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg are also considered Catholic, however, they did not appear to send any Royals to the ceremony.
The Belgian couple and the Spanish Queen were seen chatting briefly before the ceremony, and they left together once they were invited to do so; King Philippe and Queen Mathilde also greeted members of the German and other European delegations.
This was the conclusion of a Lying-in-State that lasted for three days and saw the participation of around 100,000 pilgrims. St Peter’s Square also hosted about 40,000 mourners, together with church authorities, that came to present their homage to the deceased Pontiff Emeritus.
