Mourning Pope Benedict XVI: 'He was always like a father'

"He was an important pope, and for my family and me, he was always like a father," recalls Astia, a young Italian woman.

She has just returned from St. Peter's Basilica and is walking onto the massive colonnaded square before the church.

For her, gazing upon the body of the recently deceased Pope Benedict XVI was an important part of saying goodbye: "He did great things for Rome and the church. It was an interesting and emotional moment. I feel joyful and moved."

Benedict isn't lying in a coffin under the massive dome of St. Peter's Basilica. Instead, he's resting on crimson pillows on top of a pedestal. In death, he is wearing a white liturgical robe, a red cloak  and a miter — the peaked headgear of a bishop. A rosary has been placed in his crossed hands. For once, he isn't wearing the famous red shoes that he fondly wore when he was pope: He has on modest black ones instead. A spokesperson from the Vatican made a point of mentioning that detail.

The display is simple, without any pomposity. That's exactly how Joseph Ratzinger — his birth name before he was elected pope in 2005 — wanted things to be at his death, particularly in view of the fact that the deceased pontiff had retired almost 10 years ago. 

Faithful mourners and tourists say goodbye

A steady stream of mourners has been marching past the body of the late pope since Monday morning. Some people hesitate for a moment to say a prayer. Others try to take pictures with their smartphones.

"A lot of the people who've come here are just tourists who weren't even religious, much less supporters of the pope," says David Kelly from France of the scenes near the high altar.

It's not surprising that a lot of tourists who just happen to be in Rome wanted to witness the historic procession: It's the first time in centuries that a sitting pope, Pope Francis, will be able to bury a deceased one.

'So wonderfully conservative'

"I'm really happy that I happened to be here for this," says Denise Morise. The US native is vacationing in Rome. "My father was a deacon for 20 years and dedicated his life to the church. He was a big fan of the pope. He liked the pope very much because he was deeply conservative. The church will always evolve and be meaningful for us who are members of the church."

 But one man who journeyed from Poland isn't in Rome by chance. He came specifically to witness the ceremony for the deceased pope. He's a faithful Catholic who prefers to not have his real name published. He says remembering "Papa Razzi," one of the popular nicknames for Pope Benedict that's a play on his birth name, Ratzinger, makes him very sad.

"When I heard about the death of Papa Razzi, I decided to go to the Vatican and say goodbye. He was very traditional,"  the man says. "In Poland, we like these traditional attitudes toward faith and the church. Today, we're praying for ‘Papa Razzi.'"

It's true that the young theology professor Joseph Ratzinger did continue the conservative teachings of his Polish predecessor, John Paul II. Ratzinger was the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, which is the second most important authority in the Vatican for Catholic teachings.

Aloof intellectual or great theologian?

In front of the gates outside the massive Renaissance basilica, people are queuing up. The average waiting time is around two hours. The plaza is full, but not packed. Following the death of Benedict's beloved predecessor, John Paul II, millions of people came to Rome to pay their final respects. Benedict, who was widely regarded as a slightly aloof intellectual by many Italian Catholics in particular, was much less popular in Italy. The current Pope Francis has a larger following as well.

That dynamic is also on display at a souvenir shop in Borgo Pio, a district of Rome near the Vatican. There is a slew of souvenirs for Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis available for purchase. Souvenirs featuring Pope Benedict, on the other hand, are hard to find, despite his recent death.

Sister Maria Goretti Lee from South Korea can't understand that at all. She lives in Rome, and regards Pope Benedict, who wrote many books and academic works, as a monumental theologian. "We wanted to say goodbye," she says. "It was of course very moving. We studied his books. During his pontificate, he showed that he was very humble and also very shy."

 Avoiding the impression of a state funeral

 The burial — a simple one by papal standards — is to take place on Thursday. The modest nature of the event is at Benedict's wish. He also chose the location of his burial before he died. Pope Francis will lead a celebratory Mass in St. Peter's Square to commemorate his predecessor. Then Benedict's body will be carried in a sarcophagus to the Vatican grottoes of St. Peter's Basilica  — the papal tombs where many church figures and other dignitaries have their final resting place — to be buried with only a few people in attendance. Around 90 popes are buried in the grottoes.

Only two state delegations will be sent to the ceremony: one from the deceased pope's native Germany and one from Italy. The Vatican's protocol department stated that they aimed to avoid the impression of a state funeral, even though the late pontiff was the sovereign of the Vatican City State. Countless pilgrims from Benedict's home state of Bavaria are expected to come and bid farewell to the deceased 95-year-old pope, including Bavaria's Premier Markus Söder of the conservative Christian Social Union party.

For the Catholic Church, the death of the "pope emeritus" is a return to normality with one living pope. But the so-called "Vaticanisti," (the Vatican experts in Italian newspapers), have long speculated that Pope Francis could also retire soon. He's complained about health problems and has hinted at resigning many times. Beyond his health issues, Francis is 86 years old. That's a year older than Joseph Ratzinger was when he resigned as pope. "I thought it was good when he resigned back then due to illness," says David Kelly from France, who recently visited the basilica. "He was the first one to do that, and he set a standard that all future popes could follow."

This article was translated from German.