Only two delegations named for Pope Benedict's burial – Report

Only two official state delegations – from Italy and Germany – will attend the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the Vatican press office has confirmed.

The PUNCH reported that Pope Benedict XVI lay in sick health for nearly a decade before his eventual death on Saturday, December 31, 2022.

He led the Catholic Church for less than eight years until in 2013 he became the first pope to step down since Gregory XII in 1415.

Benedict spent his last years at the Mater Ecclesiae monastery inside the Vatican where he died.

Born in Germany, Benedict XVI, former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, lived in Italy for more than 40 years, starting in 1981.

The Holy See Press Office confirmed on December 31 that the two countries were sending official representatives to the funeral, which will take place on Thursday.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Italian Prime Minister Geogia Meloni paid their respects to the late pontiff on Monday morning at St. Peter's Basilica, where his body will be on display until January 4.

While there, Meloni offered his condolences to Benedict XVI's longtime personal secretary, Archbishop Georg Gänswein.

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