Vancouver Archbishop J. Michael Miller will celebrate a memorial Mass for the repose of the soul of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI Thursday, just hours after the late Pope’s funeral in Rome.
Archbishop Miller will celebrate the requiem Mass at Holy Rosary Cathedral at 12:10 p.m. with priests of the archdiocese concelebrating. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s funeral will be held Thursday in Rome in St. Peter’s Square at 9:30 a.m. in Rome, 12:30 a.m. Vancouver time.
Salt + Light Media will carry the Mass on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. Vancouver time. Watch live at slmedia.org/live.
EWTN’s live coverage begins at 11:30 a.m. Vancouver time. To watch visit ewtn.com/tv/extra-watch-live. The funeral broadcast coverage will last about 3 1/2 hours.
Before the funeral Mass, the Rosary will be prayed in St. Peter’s Square. At 8:50 a.m. Rome time, Benedict’s coffin, which is currently lying in state in St. Peter’s Basilica, will be transported from the basilica for the funeral.
Pope Francis will preside over the funeral Mass.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told reporters that the funeral Mass for the pope emeritus “roughly follows that reserved for a supreme pontiff” but has some changes.
Bruni said that the Mass will include “some original elements, adaptations due to the particularity of the situation, and others missing that belong to the reigning Pontiff.”
Some of the missing elements, Bruni said, include the “final supplication of the Diocese of Rome and of the Eastern Churches foreseen in the rites that close the funeral of the Ultima Commendatio (Final Commendation) and the Valedictio (Valediction).”
The Mass will be “different,” Bruni said, “not those foreseen by the Lectionary for the ritual Masses.”
The faithful can follow along with the prayers and readings that were released by the Vatican for the funeral Mass.
The readings for the Mass will be Isaiah 29:16–19 in Spanish; Psalm 23 sung in Latin; 1 Peter 1: 3–9 in English, and the Gospel of Luke 23: 39–46 read in Italian.
Only two countries, Italy and Germany, will be sending official state delegations to attend the funeral after being invited to do so. Other heads of state will attend in an unofficial capacity, including the president of Hungary, Katalin Novak; the president of Poland, Andrzej Duda; King Philip of Belgium; and Queen Sofia of Spain.
When Mass ends, Benedict’s coffin will be brought to the Vatican Grottoes for final burial. He will be laid to rest in the same tomb that St. John Paul II was buried in before his beatification.
The casket of St. John Paul II is now located in the upper part of St. Peter’s Basilica.
As Benedict XVI is carried to his resting place in the crypt, the choir will sing the Magnificat in Latin. He will be buried with a short piece of text that briefly describes the pontificate.
Bruni said that a ribbon will be placed around Benedict’s coffin. The seals of the Apostolic Chamber, the Pontifical Household, and of the liturgical celebrations will also be placed around the coffin.
Benedict’s zinc coffin will be placed inside a wooden coffin before burial, which will take place privately.
With local files.
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