Thousands of Catholics have begun lining up at the Vatican to pay their respects to former Pope Benedict XVI, with some hoping he will be canonized as a saint.
Benedict died on Saturday aged 95 and his body was transferred from a Vatican monastery to St Peter’s Basilica at 7am on Monday, where he will lie in state for three days before his funeral on Thursday.
Authorities in Rome expect at least 35,000 people a day to come to the Vatican to pay their respects to Benedict, who almost a decade ago became the first pope to resign in 600 years, many traveling from abroad.
Many of those who joined the queue early Monday to see Benedict’s body, which was draped in red papal cassocks, were priests and nuns waiting alongside Catholic pilgrims or those already visiting Rome and wanted to pay tribute.
“The line is moving quite steadily and there is a calm and serene atmosphere,” said Christopher White, Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter. “Those who stood in line for hours before things opened are the type of people who really had a strong devotion to him. For a certain type of Catholic, Benedict held considerable appeal. He had a reputation as an intellect, scholar and theologian, which resonated with more theologically conservative Catholics. Their immediate support is that he is one of the greatest minds the church has ever had, and they are fully confident that one day he will be a saint.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni were among the first people to enter St. Peter’s Basilica, where Benedict’s body lies in a gold-draped casket in front of the altar.
Benedict’s successor, Pope Francis, will lead the funeral Mass on Thursday before the body is buried in the tombs under the basilica.
Born in Germany, Benedict led the Catholic Church for eight years before resigning in 2013, citing ill health. He chose to call himself Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI after his abdication rather than revert to Joseph Ratzinger, and continued to live within the walls of the Vatican and wear a white cassock.
Although he has been in the background, Benedict has come forward on a variety of issues over the past decade, often in conflict with the views of the more liberal Francis. The unusual relationship inspired the film The Two Popes.
In one of his most controversial essays, published in 2019, Benedict blamed the sexual revolution of the 1960s and “homosexual cliques” among priests for the church’s sexual abuse scandals. His comments came two months after an unprecedented summit at the Vatican to tackle sexual abuse by clergy and stood in stark contrast to that of Pope Francis, who blamed the scandals on a clerical culture that elevates priests above the laity.
Meanwhile, the results of a German investigation published last January showed that Benedict failed to take action against four priests accused of child sexual abuse during his time as archbishop of Munich.
Peter Seewald, a German journalist who wrote four books based on a series of interviews with Benedict, said that although the former pope had many enemies, he also had many followers.
“That’s why we’re seeing a lot of people in line,” Seewald said. “It is often overlooked that he is the most widely read and best-known theologian of modern times. His books sold in the millions and for many Christians he was a beacon in modern times.
However, as tributes to Benedict poured in from around the world over the weekend, the Catholic Women’s Ordination (CWO) issued a strong statement saying Benedict’s death “will be a trigger” for all those who have suffered abuse by clergy, as well as for women whose attempts to be ordained priests were blocked by him and the clergy who supported his views.
“Seeing images of people queuing, walking past the body and crying sickens me,” said Pat Brown, CWO spokesperson. “For survivors of clerical abuse, this should come back to haunt them – this man could have done something, but he did nothing. It is also difficult for women who cannot test their vocation in the priesthood. So much suffering has been caused by this church and yet it still has the power… it’s almost like brainwashing, people are completely in a daze, they just see this hierarchical figure as infallible.
All the criticism among those who lined up on Monday seemed to be aimed at Francis.
“One person said the last 10 years have been a disaster,” White said. “Another praised Benedict, saying that he was a saint because he remained so quiet in these troubled times.”
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