The funeral of the head of the Roman Catholic Church and the appointment of a successor is a procedure that has its own exact course, but the Vatican is now venturing into unknown territory with the death of the former, honorary Pope Benedict XVI, who resigned almost ten years ago.
Usually, the death of a pope triggers a quick convocation during which the cardinals choose a successor. That scenario will not happen this time, since the successor of Pope Francis has been at the head of the Church since 2013.
After the announcement of the death of Pope Benedict XVI, whose secular name was Joseph Ratzinger, the Vatican issued several statements during the day that show that the entire ceremony was carefully prepared.
According to the Apostolic Constitution promulgated by Pope John Paul II in 1996, the pope must be buried between the fourth and sixth day after death.
It will be the same this time, as the funeral of the former pope, who died today at the age of 96, will be held on January 5 in St. Peter's Square, exactly five days after his death.
For the first time, the funeral rite will be led by the current pope himself.
Sources close to the Holy See announced that the funeral will be solemn but modest.
The Vatican also announced that the body of Pope Benedict XVI will be on display from Monday to Wednesday in St. Peter's Basilica for the faithful to pay their respects. Until then, his body will be in a small monastery within the Vatican gardens.
In 2005, the body of John Paul II, the last deceased pope, was put on display before the ceremonial burial in St. Peter's Square in the presence of numerous heads of state and government, and representatives of monarchies.
The ceremony was led by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who was later elected Pope. Then several million people attended the funeral of the very popular Polish Pope.
Although his popularity has never reached that of John Paul II, the German pope, head of the Roman Catholic Church from 2005 to 2013, is a former head of state, so his funeral should also attract large numbers of officials and worshippers.
As for the place of burial, tradition will also be respected as Benedict XVI will join his predecessors in one of the crypts located beneath St. Peter's Basilica.
It is customary that when a pope dies, his ring, which is specially made for each new pope, is destroyed. Those rings once served as seals for documents.
The ring of Benedict XVI has already been destroyed, i.e. the letter X was placed over the papal coat of arms on the ring, so that it would be unusable. This was done when he resigned.
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