Benedict XVI to be buried in first tomb of Pope John Paul II

Pope Benedict XVI visits tomb of Pope John Paul II

Pope Benedict XVI visits the tomb of the late Pope John Paul II in the grotto beneath St. Peter's Basilica after a meeting with young Catholics, in preparation of the XXI World Youth Day at the Vatican April 6, 2006. | Photo by ARTURO MARI/AFP via Getty Images

By Hannah Brockhaus

Rome Newsroom, Jan 2, 2023 / 06:35 am

Benedict XVI will be interred in the Vatican crypt in the same spot where Pope John Paul II was buried before his beatification.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni confirmed the site of Benedict’s tomb to journalists on Jan. 2, the first day the pope emeritus’ body was laid in state in St. Peter’s Basilica.

Benedict’s death at age 95 was announced in Rome on Dec. 31.

Benedict XVI’s coffin will be carried to the crypt under the central part of St. Peter’s Basilica for interment after his funeral Mass on Jan. 5.

St. John Paul II’s tomb was in the crypt from the date of his funeral April 8, 2005, until April 29, 2011, when his casket was moved to the upper part of St. Peter’s Basilica a few days before his beatification ceremony.

St. John XXIII was also previously buried in the same place, which is fewer than 100 feet from the tomb of St. Peter the Apostle, the Catholic Church’s first pope.

The area is on the north side of the central part of the Vatican crypt. On the wall above the spot, there is an image of the Virgin Mary and the child Jesus flanked by angels.

Queen Christina of Sweden, who died on April 19, 1689, is buried in a sarcophagus immediately to the right of the spot.

Hannah Brockhaus is Catholic News Agency's senior Rome correspondent. She grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and has a degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri.