• Requiem Mass details released by Holy Press Office
• Church bells to ring across Germany on Thursday
• Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI a "great master" of catechesis
• Pope Francis writes preface to 'God is Always New'
Vatican City – The Holy See Press office released the published the rite for the Requiem Mass for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, which will be celebrated on Thursday at 9:30 AM Rome time.
The booklet for the Mass is based largely on the Rite of Christian Burial of a Supreme Pontiff with several modifications.
Matteo Bruni, the Director of the Holy See Press Office, told reporters on Tuesday that some portions have been added, while others more relevant to the death of a reigning Pope have been taken out.
Pope Francis will preside over the Requiem Mass, deliver the homily, and celebrate the Rites of Commendatio and Valedictio (Final Commendation and Farewell).
The Gospel passage for the liturgy comes from Luke (23:39-46), where Jesus, hanging on the Cross, tells one of the men condemned with Him that he will be with Him in paradise.
Jesus’ final words— “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”—are also recounted in the passage.
Those words are not so dissimilar to the last words of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI: “Lord, I love you.”
Burial details
Mr. Bruni also provided details of the objects which will be placed in the cypress-wood coffin with the late Pope Emeritus.
These include the episcopal Pallia—the pallium symbolizes a prelate’s ecclesiastical jurisdiction and special relationship with the Pope—as well as the commemorative coins and medals which were coined during his papacy, and the deed (“rogito” in Italian), a written text describing his pontificate, sealed in a metal cylinder.
At the end of the Requiem Mass, the mortal remains of the Pope Emeritus will be taken to the Grottos under St. Peter’s Basilica, where his coffin will be placed inside a zinc coffin, which in turn will be placed inside a wooden case.
Benedict XVI will be laid to rest in the tomb where St. John Paul II had been buried before his beatification, according to his final wishes.
The Dicastery for Communication, with the support of the Knights of Columbus, is providing media facilities and audio-video links to ensure the worldwide broadcast of the Requiem Mass for the late Benedict XVI.
Church bells to ring across Germany
The bells of all Catholic churches of the 27 dioceses of Germany are expected to toll at 11 a.m. (local time) on Jan 5. to pay respect for the late pontiff.
Bishops from the 27 dioceses in Germany are expected to attend the funeral in Rome.
Meanwhile, thousands of pilgrims gathered in the Paul VI Audience Hall in the Vatican to hear the Pope and pay their respects to the Pope Emeritus lying in state in Saint Peter's Basilica. On Monday and Tuesday alone, over 135,000 people visited the Basilica.
Cardinal Mar George Alencherry, Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church and Metropolitan Archbishop Mar Andrews Thazhath President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) also paid their respects to late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in Vatican.
Pope Francis recalls 'great master' of catechesis
At the Wednesday General Audience, Pope Francis recalls the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI as a "great master" of catechesis, who always sought to help others encounter the Lord, and concludes his catechesis series on the theme of discernment.
“I would like us to join with those here beside us who are paying their respects to Benedict XVI, and to turn my thoughts to him, a great master of catechesis. His acute and gentle thought was not self-referential, but ecclesial, because he always wanted to accompany us in the encounter with Jesus. Jesus, Crucified and Risen, the Living One and the Lord, was the destination to which Pope Benedict led us, taking us by the hand. May he help us rediscover in Christ the joy of believing and the hope of living.”
'God is Always New', spiritual reflections of late Pontiff
Pope Francis wrote the preface to book gathering the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's spiritual reflections, edited by Luca Caruso and entitled 'God is Always New', which will be published by the Vatican Publishing House on 14 January.
Pope Francis said in the preface that Benedict XVI did theology on his knees in prayer. His explanation of matters of faith was carried out with the devotion of a man who totally surrendered himself to God and who, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, sought an ever-greater understanding of the mystery of Jesus, who fascinated him from his youth.
‘Benedict XVI reminded us by word and example that the fullness of our existence is found only in the personal encounter with Jesus Christ, the Living One, the incarnate Logos, the full and definitive revelation of God, who in Him manifests Himself as love to the end.’
-VN/CNA