Pope Francis presides over a mass in St Peter's Basilica as the body of his predecessor is prepared for three days of public viewing in the same church.
abc.net.au/news/vatican-pope-benedict-funeral-mass/101820778Pope Francis has marked the Roman Catholic Church's traditional World Day of Peace, but the start of the new year at the Vatican was overshadowed by the death of his predecessor.Pope Francis appeals for peace in the first mass since the death of his predecessor Benedict XVI
It will be the first time in many centuries that a sitting pope will preside at the funeral of his predecessor.January 1 is also the feast of the Mother of God and in his homily, Pope Francis asked the Madonna to accompany "our beloved" Pope Emeritus Benedict "on his passage from this world to God".Pope Francis lead the Angelus prayer for parishioners outside the church.
"Let us pray to our Mother in a special way for her sons and daughters who are suffering and no longer have the strength to pray, and for our many brothers and sisters throughout the world who are victims of war, passing these holidays in darkness and cold, in poverty and fear, immersed in violence and indifference," he said.
In it, he asked in a general, spiritual way, that God would welcome him to internal life "despite all my sins and insufficiencies".