Historic but spare funeral for Pope Benedict XVI, led by Pope Francis

VATICAN CITY – For the first time in its modern history, the Catholic Church buried a retired pontiff, following a stripped down and solemn ceremony Thursday that included a final, indelible gesture: Pope Francis bowing his head and placing his hand on the casket of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI before it was carried away.

The requiem Mass, conducted as a heavy fog lifted, used a mix of ancient rituals and new precedents to pay tribute to a figure who transformed the papacy with his decision 10 years ago to abdicate.

The ceremony lacked the noise, the color, the grief and even the bursts of joy that marked the last papal funeral, of John Paul II, in 2005. Benedict’s drew 50,000 people – one sixth of that crowd. It took 90 minutes, half as long. It showed the profound difference between what it means to die as a beloved sitting pope versus as a retired and controversial one.

But the funeral was captivating for the juxtaposition of two men, Benedict and Francis, one being honored and one there to do the honoring, one who died Saturday at 95 and the other who, at 86, is already one of the oldest popes on record. Thursday, the men who had been living side-by-side for 10 years were again just 15 feet apart, with Francis – pushed to the altar in a wheelchair – sitting in front of a cypress casket holding his predecessor.

“We now offer our final farewell to Pope Emeritus Benedict and commend him to God,” Francis said.

The funeral gave the church a final moment to reflect on one of its most towering and polarizing conservatives – somebody who shaped the faith with his moral certitude. As pontiff, he prayed at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, celebrated Mass at Yankee Stadium, named 84 cardinals and took 24 trips abroad. But he built his reputation above all by doggedly protected the church’s core teachings, even when they were unpopular among practicing Catholics, a method that Francis has made a point to soften.

It was only because of Benedict’s historic abdication that Francis had the chance to eulogize his predecessor. But rather than providing any particular words about Benedict, he showed, once more, why the “two popes” era could be so precarious. Francis delivered a homily steeped in verse, without personal touches, making no reference to his predecessor by name until the last sentence, when he said: “Benedict … may your joy be complete as you hear his voice.”

Francis’ approach marked a notable departure from the homily at the last papal funeral, delivered by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger 10 days before he’d be elected as Benedict. Then, Ratzinger had woven verse and biography, describing John Paul II’s teenage years working at a chemical plant, his discoveries as a young priest, his reign as pontiff, when he “tried to meet everyone.” When Ratzinger finished, the crowd in St. Peter’s Square roared, some chanting, “Saint! Saint!”

Thursday, when Francis finished, there was silence.

“There were no concessions to the audience,” said Massimo Faggioli, a Villanova University professor of theology.

The reaction to Francis’ approach was mixed. Rod Dreher, an American commentator who converted to Orthodoxy but shares ideological ground with Catholic traditionalists, called the homily “mean-spirited and ungenerous.” It was short of what the moment required, said Dreher, who attended the funeral.

Some were not surprised, and noted that Francis routinely puts the Gospel at the center of his homilies, including for canonizations. Others said Francis had fittingly paid tribute to a predecessor who preferred that attention be directed at the church and not at himself.

“It’s totally in the spirit of Benedict, and it’s only fair that his wishes should be respected,” Cardinal Wim Eijk, a conservative who held Benedict in high regard, said in an interview with the Washington Post after the funeral.

Though the Vatican had previewed that Benedict’s funeral would be “simple,” he received many of the passages afforded other pontiffs: For three days this week, he lay in state for public visitation. Certain tokens from his pontificate, as well as a written text describing his life and reign and resignation, were enclosed in his coffin. Thursday after the funeral, he received a final ritualistic burial reserved for popes, with his coffin encased in zinc before being transferred into an outer casket of oak.

But because Benedict was not a sitting pope, there will be no immediate conclave or intrigue. The church will forgo its customary nine-day mourning period. In passages during the funeral, Benedict was cited as “pope emeritus.” There was an additional prayer for “Our Holy Father, Pope Francis.”

The crowd included several thousand clerics, more than 120 cardinals, European heads of state and pilgrims from all reaches of the world. Some waved flags of Bavaria, the part of Germany where Benedict was born, baptized and ordained. Some attendees said they’d been personally moved by Benedict’s teachings or shared his vision for the church.

“We’re here for Benedict,” said Tomasz Kotwicki, 58, a doctor from Poland. He said that Francis, during the ceremony, looked “very tired.”

“Just like Benedict did in 2013” before resigning, he said.