Pope Francis paid tribute to his predecessor former Pope Benedict XVI Thursday, in a funeral attended by tens of thousands of mourners at St. Peter’s Square.

The ceremony for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI lacked the scale and emotion of the last papal funeral, reflecting what it means to die as a beloved sitting pope vs. a retired one.

Pope Francis sits by the coffin of the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in St. Peter's Square during a funeral mass at the Vatican, January 5, 2023. Andrew Medichini/AP ...

Oliver Weiken—dpa/picture alliance/Getty Images Faithful attend the funeral mass for late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City on Jan. 5, 2023.

Archbishop Georg Ganswein kneels by the coffin of late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is brought to St. Peter's Square for a funeral mass at the Vatican, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023.

The funeral of Benedict XVI, the pope emeritus who died on Saturday at age 95, took place in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City on Thursday after three days during which mourners could view his ...

Pope Francis presided at the funeral on Jan. 5 in St. Peter's Square for his predecessor former Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who died at the age of 95.

Pope Francis touches the coffin of former Pope Benedict during his funeral, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Jan. 5, 2023. Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters He stood for a moment, until his ...

Pope Francis will preside over the funeral for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who died Saturday at age 95, on Thursday, according to the Vatican – an unprecedented occasion for a current pope to ...

Mourners poured into St. Peter’s Square early Thursday for the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, hoping to pay final respects to the German theologian who made history by retiring.

VATICAN CITY — The Roman Catholic Church on Thursday laid to rest Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in front of a fog-shrouded St. Peter’s Basilica with an extraordinary funeral presided over by his ...

Pope Francis paid tribute to his predecessor former Pope Benedict XVI Thursday, in a funeral attended by tens of thousands of mourners at St. Peter’s Square.. The event marked the first occasion ...