As soon as the former Pope Benedict XVI’s lying in state at the Vatican starts, tens of thousands of people are anticipated to pay their respects.
He passed away on New Year’s Eve at the age of 95, over ten years after he resigned due to illness.
The funeral will be presided over by Pope Francis on Thursday, marking the first occasion when the reigning pope will officiate at the burial.
The ceremony will be brief, serious, and sober, according to the Vatican.
In 2013, Benedict XVI, who had been pope for 600 years, announced his resignation due to failing health.
People may pay their respects up until 7 p.m. each day while his remains is on display at St. Peter’s Basilica for three days in an open coffin.
Before the Pope Emeritus is buried in the tombs beneath the Basilica, a burial service will be held in St. Peter’s Square.
Pictures of the body wearing red papal mourning clothes and a gold-trimmed mitre were posted by the Vatican on Sunday.
Worldwide tributes have flooded in, and hundreds of people are anticipated to attend the funeral.
Pope John Paul II’s 2005 funeral, which attracted an estimated four million people to Rome, was the last papal funeral and one of the biggest Christian gatherings in history.
The details of the service are not yet known because numerous customs connected to the passing of a pope in office, most notably the choice of a successor, are not necessary.
According to Matteo Bruni, a spokesman for the Vatican, Benedict requested that the funeral be distinguished by simplicity.
Although the Vatican has not disclosed the specifics of the guest list, it has stated that it will include representatives from Italy and Benedict’s native Germany.
Pope Francis paid tribute to his “dearest” predecessor after his death.
US President Joe Biden lauded the former Pope’s “lifetime of devotion to the Church”, while Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hailed him as “a great man whom history will not forget”.
In Brazil – the largest Catholic nation in the world – incoming President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he wished “comfort to the faithful and admirers of the Holy Father”.
Pope Benedict was a controversial figure, and some have criticised him for failing to tackle allegations of clerical sexual abuse.