The Requiem

On December 31st 2022 the former Pope Benedict XVI. died. After years in the Vatican, where he lived quite a quiet life, he was lastly honored with different rituals which finally led to his burial in the crypte of St. Peter's Basilica.

Because he stepped down from the papacy he was not the reigning Pope and the Vatican had to create a kind of a unique sequence of ceremonies in advance and for his funeral.

Mourners and tourists queued up in St. Peter's Basilica to pay their respect for the late former Pope for which the Vatican gave three days. On the fourth day he was carried out to St. Peter's Square for the funeral service, which was a ceremony of liturgic clarity and without the recognition of emotional habits.

As I knew the former Pope Benedict XVI. personally I experienced mixed emotions during covering the days of mourn. These days were characterized by simplicity, clarity and humble calm. This is what the pictures try to transfer visually.