On Sunday morning, Pope Francis congratulated “beloved pope” Benedict XVI, his predecessor, who died on Saturday at the age of 95 and whose funeral he will officiate on Thursday, AFP reported.

“Today, we entrust our beloved Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI to the Holy Mother (Virgin Mary) to accompany him from this world to God,” he said during the liturgy in St. Peter’s Basilica.

On Sunday, the sovereign pontiff is expected to deliver the traditional weekly Angelus prayer to crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican.

On Saturday, at the age of 95, in a monastery in the Vatican Gardens, the brilliant theologian and ardent defender of dogmas, Benedict XVI, who announced his resignation from his post in 2013 due to deteriorating health, died.

Hours after his death was announced, Pope Francis paid tribute to his predecessor, saluting “such a noble man.” “We remember with excitement his such a noble, gentle person, and we feel such great gratitude in our hearts, gratitude that God gave him to the Church and to the world,” the Pope said during the ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, emphasizing the “sacrifices” brought by him “for the good of the Church.”

In his spiritual testament, drawn up in 2006, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI asks for the “forgiveness” of all those whom he has “hurt”. “To all those whom I have harmed in one way or another, I ask for forgiveness from the bottom of my heart,” wrote Joseph Ratzinger, who was Pope from 2005 to 2013, in a text dated August 29, 2006, published Saturday evening by the press service of the Holy See.

The former Pope will be buried on January 5 in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, the Vatican announced.

From Monday to Wednesday, the coffin of German theologian Joseph Ratzinger will be on display in St. Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful can come and gather.

Pope Francis will officiate the funeral on Thursday. This is the first time in modern history that a Pope has presided over the funeral of his predecessor.

(source: Agerpres)