John Paul II - Funeral

The funeral of Pope John Paul II was held on 8 April 2005, six days after his death on 2 April.

The funeral was followed by the novemdiales devotional in which the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches observe nine days of mourning.

On February 22, 1996, Pope John Paul II introduced revisions to the centuries-old ceremonies surrounding papal death, repose and burial. The revisions enacted through the apostolic constitution Universi Dominici Gregis applied to his own funeral.

Pope John Paul's funeral brought together the single largest gathering of heads of state in history, surpassing the funeral of Winston Churchill.

Coinciding with the funeral in Vatican City, archbishops and bishops at cathedrals throughout the world celebrated memorial Masses for grieving Catholics.

In a historical rarity, Protestant and Eastern Orthodox Christian leaders, as well as leaders in Judaism and Islam, offered memorials and prayers of their own for their congregants sharing in the grief of Catholics.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I attended the funeral from the honorary first seat; this was the first time an Ecumenical Patriarch attended a papal funeral since the Great Schism.

The Archbishop of Canterbury was present at the papal funeral for the first time since the Church of England broke with the papacy in the 16th century.

For the first time ever, the head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church, Patriarch Abune Paulos attended the Papal funeral.

It is thought that billions of people had watched the funeral either through actually being in Vatican Square, watching it on television live, or watching a taped version or replayed version later that day.

The latter may be particularly true in the United States, where the funeral happened early in the morning and on a weekday. It is unknown whether the funeral of the pope was the most watched event in history; if so, it would overtake another funeral to hold that spot, that one being the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales.

Rite of Papal Death

Centuries of sacred rituals are set in motion upon the death of a pope. Such rituals are administered by the Cardinal Camerlengo.

When Pope John Paul II died, Camerlengo Eduardo Martínez Somalo (pic'd here) removed the Pope's Ring of the Fisherman from his finger.

The Cardinal then ceremonially crushed the ring with the ceremonial silver hammer in the presence of members of the College of Cardinals.

This is done to prevent the creation of forged, backdated documents, which would appear to have been approved by John Paul II.

After the ring's destruction, Cardinal Martínez Somalo cordoned off and placed wax seals on the entrances to the Pope's private bedroom and study. This tradition originates from ruthless cardinals looting the papal chambers upon the death of past popes.

The Pope's formal death certificate was signed by Dr. Renato Buzzonetti, Director of the Department of Health and Sanitation of Vatican City, on the evening of his death.

Cardinal Martínez Somalo then ceremonially ordered the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, to summon the cardinals of the world to Vatican City to elect a new pope.

Some traditions were omitted, partly as a result of changes made by Pope John Paul II to the formula of rituals upon the death of a pope.

One of these would have required Cardinal Martínez Somalo to tap the head of the pope with the ceremonial silver hammer, a practice that is believed to have ended some time ago under the pontificate of John XXIII.

It remains customary for the camerlengo to call out the pope's birth name three times, to ensure he has truly died. While his predecessors had been embalmed
after death, the Vatican claimed that Pope John Paul II was not embalmed and lay in state without normal treatment for preservation, which is evident by the grey colour taken on by the body.

Also, it was customary for popes to have their organs removed after death. Pope Saint Pius X ended this practice during his reign, and it appears that the wish of some Poles that John Paul II's heart be buried in Poland was not obliged.

Vestments

Pope John Paul II's body was clothed in the familiar white soutane, over which was placed a plain white alb. A stole, the symbol of ordained ministry, was placed around his neck.

Over the inner vestments, Pope John Paul II was clothed in a red chasuble

An ancient Byzantine custom, red is the old colour of mourning for Popes.

Around his collar, the pallium of white lamb's wool was draped.

A white zucchetto and a white bishop's mitre adorned Pope John Paul II's head. In his arm rested Paul VI's famous pastoral cross-staff, used by popes in place of the crosier

His hands clasped a rosary.

At first, he lay in state in his favorite pair of Polish-made brown leather shoes, an American size ten and a half, which he wore on his travels throughout the world. Later, following the example of his immediate predecessors, these were changed to plain red leather papal shoes.

Mass of Repose

The Mass of Repose, offered to anyone baptized in the Catholic Church, was led by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (future Pope Benedict XVI) on April 3, 2005.

That Sunday service coincided with the celebration of the Feast of Divine Mercy, a memorial feast instituted by Pope John Paul II.

Cardinal Ratzinger stirred excitement by some devotees of the pope when in his published written homily for the Mass of Repose, he referred to Pope John Paul II as "the Great".

This is remarkable as only two Popes in history (Pope Leo I and Pope Gregory I) have been accorded this appellation.

The appellation, though, was omitted from the spoken homily. The Mass of Repose, commemorating the sending of the soul to God, was followed by the recitation of the Regina Coeli.

Rite of Visitation

Pope John Paul II's body is laid in the Apostolic Palace for private visitation by Vatican officials and foreign dignitaries. By April 6, a million people had seen Pope John Paul II's remains lying in state in St. Peter's Basilica.

An estimated total of four million people, in addition to the over three million residents of Rome, were expected to make the pilgrimage to see the pope.

The body of Pope John Paul II was dressed in his vestments and moved to the Clementine Hall on the third level considered the second floor of the Apostolic Palace on April 3.

His body was laid on a sloped olive-sheeted bed and propped on a stack of three gold pillows.

Near the bed was a wooden crucifix and a paschal candle symbolic of Jesus Christ as the light of the world in the face of darkness and death. His body was guarded by the Swiss Guard, a corps of men which has sworn to protect the pope through several centuries.

During a period of private visitation Vatican officials and a contingent of officials from the Italian government viewed the body of Pope John Paul II. On April 4, the body of Pope John Paul II was moved onto a red velvet bier, propped on three red pillows.

The Papal Gentlemen, regaled in black morning coats and white gloves, were chosen as pallbearers and stood along the sides of the pope's bier.

Cardinal Martínez Somalo, dressed in red and gold vestments, officiated the sprinkling rite. He blessed the pope with the holy waters of baptism three times: to the right of the pope, at his head and then to his left. An acolyte then brought to the camerlengo a thurible and boat. Cardinal Martínez Somalo incensed the pope three times.

A long procession was begun in order to transfer the body of Pope John Paul II from the Clementine Hall, through the colonnades of the Apostolic Palace and into St. Peter's Square among the waiting people. Traditionally, the pope's body is then brought to either St. Peter's Basilica or the papal cathedral, St. John Lateran Basilica.

A procession of monks, priests and bishops paced slowly along a route towards St. Peter's Basilica. The College of Cardinals trailed by Cardinal Ratzinger and Cardinal Martínez Somalo followed them.

As the ritual dating back to the medieval era proceeded, Gregorian chants were sung by several religious orders with the people responding to each verse with the ancient Greek prayer, "Lord, have mercy" or "Kyrie eleison." The Litany of the Saints was sung. After each name of a martyr or saint was chanted, invoking his or her intercession between God and the people, participants in the procession sang the Latin words, "Ora pro eo," meaning "Pray for him." This is a departure from the traditional, "Pray for us" or "Ora pro nobis."

When the body of Pope John Paul II was hoisted upon the steps of St. Peter's Basilica, the Papal Gentlemen turned the bier and lifted the pope's head to face the tens of thousands of people that filled St. Peter's Square. Cardinal Martínez Somalo noted it as the pope's symbolic last look at the devoted followers that had filled St. Peter's Square throughout the papacy of Pope John Paul II.

The procession ended with the seating of the College of Cardinals and the placement of the bier carrying the body of Pope John Paul II on a catafalque in front of the steps leading to the altar of St. Peter's Basilica. The paschal candle was lit and the body of Pope John Paul II was incensed again by Cardinal Martínez Somalo.

Prayers were said and a reading from the Gospels was performed by a deacon. After the College of Cardinals paid their respects and left the sanctuary, the basilica was closed and then reopened for the official lying in state to last until the day of the Mass of Requiem and subsequent interment.

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