Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Elke Büdenbender travelled to Rome on 5 January for the funeral ceremony for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. The Federal President was welcomed at the Vatican in the morning by Pope Benedict’s successor, Pope Francis, who then conducted the requiem mass in Saint Peter’s Square.
The Federal President was accompanied by an official delegation made up of representatives of Germany’s constitutional bodies, namely the Bundestag, Federal Government, Bundesrat and the Federal Constitutional Court. After the requiem mass, the Federal President met Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella for informal talks.
Pope Benedict XVI, who came from Germany, died at the age of 95 on New Year’s Eve. Federal President Steinmeier expressed his condolences to Pope Francis on 31 December.
The Federal President signed the book of condolences at the Apostolic Nunciature in Berlin on 3 January: I mourn the passing of Pope Benedict XVI together with Catholics from Germany and around the world. His faith, his intellect and his humility as a human being will be remembered vividly by people in his home country Germany.
Overview of the programme:
- Flight to Rome
- Vatican City, Saint Peter’s Basilica
Welcome by Pope Francis - Attendance at the funeral ceremony in Saint Peter’s Square
- Rome, Quirinal Palace
Informal meeting with Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella - Return flight to Berlin