Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Inside the VaticanJanuary 06, 2023
In this image released on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023, by the Vatican Media news service, Pope Francis touches the coffin of late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI after the funeral mass for late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. (Vatican Media via AP)

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was laid to rest just before noon (Rome time) on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023, in the crypt underneath St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, where the mortal remains of many pontiffs reside.

About 50,000 people came to the Vatican to pay their final respects to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI—who served the Catholic Church for nearly eight years before his historic retirement in February 2013—the first time in 600 years that a pope had resigned from office. From the time of his resignation until his death, Benedict had led a life of relative quiet and contemplation at a monastery inside the Vatican.

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” Ricardo da Silva, S.J., an associate editor at America, speaks with Gerard O’Connell, our regular co-host on the show, and David Gibson, the director of the Center on Religion and Culture at Fordham University in New York and the author of The Rule of Benedict: Pope Benedict XVI and His Battle with the Modern World.

In the first part of the show, Ricardo talks with Gerry and David about what made this first-ever funeral of a pope emeritus different from that of a pope who dies while still in office. They also address the criticism that Pope Francis’ homily did not sufficiently eulogize and recognize the legacy of the former pope. 

In the second half of the show, Ricardo, Gerry and David discuss the legacy of Pope Benedict’s nearly eight years as pope and his 24 years as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Read more on the life and legacy of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at americamagazine.org.

Links from the show:

The latest from america

In 2012, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith declared that 'Just Love,' by Margaret Farley, R.S.M., could not be used in Catholic classrooms. It was a different era in the church.
James T. KeaneNovember 28, 2023
Rabbi Abraham Skorka of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Pope Francis embrace after visiting the Western Wall in Jerusalem on May 26, 2014. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
The Second Vatican Council helped establish a bond of friendship between Catholics and Jews. What is the state of that unity after the Oct. 7 terrorist massacre?
David MeyerNovember 28, 2023
On the advice of his doctors, Pope Francis has “with great regret” canceled his visit to Dubai for the COP28 conference on climate change, the Vatican announced on Tuesday evening, Nov. 28.
Gerard O’ConnellNovember 28, 2023
Pope Francis has decided to punish one of his highest-ranking critics, Cardinal Raymond Burke, by revoking his right to a subsidized Vatican apartment and salary.