Cardinal
Joseph Ratzinger celebrated the
Mass of Requiem on 8 April at 10:00 am
CEST (08:00
UTC) by virtue of his office as
Dean of the College of Cardinals.
Processional As the Mass of Requiem began, the doors of St. Peter's Basilica were locked with dignitaries asked to stand outside the church. Only the College of Cardinals and the patriarchs and presiding metropolitans of the
Eastern Catholic Churches were allowed inside for a private ceremony in which John Paul was placed in a cypress coffin, the first of three. Before being laid in the coffin, Archbishops Marini and
Stanisław Dziwisz had the honour of placing a white silk veil over the face of the pope (a tradition started by Leo XIII). It was his last official act of service to the pope as his papal secretary.
Homily After kissing the text of the Book of the Gospels, Cardinal Ratzinger stood before the congregants to offer the
homily, which included references to the life and service of Pope John Paul II. He spoke in Italian, first greeting the many political figures and religious leaders that had gathered; and then told the story of how the young Karol had answered the Lord's call and became a priest after the persecution of the
Nazis, the answer of the command: "Follow me!" Cardinal Ratzinger also told of John Paul II's life as a bishop, cardinal, and pope, frequently applying
scripture to the pope's life. Finally, he told of the pope's
devotion to Mary and the
Divine Mercy of
God. The cardinal's last words were about the end of Pope John Paul II's life: "We entrust your dear soul to the Mother of God, your Mother, who guided you each day and who will guide you now to the eternal glory of her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ". Some construed the ending of the homily to mean that the pope had already entered into
heaven, and had become a
saint. With some holding up signs and banners, the people shouted,
“Santo subito! Santo subito!” in St. Peter's Square on the death of Pope John Paul II in April 2005. They were calling for “sainthood now.”
Rite of Interment The people of
Poland had wished for the
heart of John Paul II to be removed from his body and transferred to
Wawel Cathedral to be buried alongside the greatest of Poland's monarchs and National
heroes. Cardinal Martínez Somalo said that the request would not be obliged, as per John Paul's wish not to have any parts of his body removed during preparation for the funeral. Cardinal Martínez Somalo, Camerlengo of the Roman Church, then presided over the Rite of Interment. It was a private service witnessed only by the highest-ranking members of the College of Cardinals. As is custom, Pope John Paul II was entombed in three nested coffins. The cypress coffin was sealed and tied with three red silk ribbons. The unified coffin was lowered into the ground, as the Pope requested, and covered with a plain stone slab featuring his name and dates of his pontificate. Pope John Paul II asked that his burial be like that of
Pope Paul VI, not in an elaborate
sarcophagus and ornate above-ground tomb, but in "bare earth". His remains lay in this tomb for six years before it was exhumed to prepare for
his beatification in 2011. ==Dignitaries==