Funeral of Pope John Paul II - Rite of Visitation

Rite of Visitation

The body of Pope John Paul II was dressed in his vestments and moved to the Clementine Hall on the third level (considered the second floor) of the Apostolic Palace on April 3. His body was laid on a sloped olive-sheeted catafalque and his head propped on a stack of three gold pillows. Near the catafalque was a wooden crucifix and a paschal candle symbolic of Jesus Christ as the light of the world in the face of darkness and death. His body was guarded by the Swiss Guard, a corps of men which has sworn to protect the pope through several centuries. During a period of private visitation Vatican officials and a contingent of officials from the Italian government viewed the body of Pope John Paul II.

On 4 April, the body of Pope John Paul II was moved onto a red velvet catafalque, with his head propped on three red pillows. The Papal Gentlemen, regaled in black morning coats and white gloves, were chosen as pallbearers and stood along the sides of the pope's bier. Cardinal Martínez Somalo, dressed in red and gold vestments, officiated the asperges rite. He blessed the pope with the holy waters of baptism three times: to the right of the pope, at his head and then to his left. An acolyte then brought to the Camerlengo a thurible and boat. Cardinal Martínez Somalo incensed the pope three times.

A long procession was begun in order to transfer the body of Pope John Paul II from the Clementine Hall, through the colonnades of the Apostolic Palace and into St. Peter's Square among the waiting people. Traditionally, the pope's body is then brought to either St. Peter's Basilica or the papal cathedral, St. John Lateran Basilica. A procession of monks, priests and bishops paced slowly along a route towards St. Peter's Basilica. The College of Cardinals trailed by Cardinal Ratzinger and Cardinal Martínez Somalo followed them.

As the ritual dating back to the medieval era proceeded, Gregorian chants were sung by several religious orders with the people responding to each verse with the ancient Greek prayer, "Lord, have mercy" or "Kyrie eleison." The Litany of the Saints was sung. After each name of a martyr or saint was chanted, invoking his or her intercession between God and the people, participants in the procession sang the Latin words, "Ora pro eo," meaning "Pray for him." This is a departure from the traditional, "Pray for us" or "Ora pro nobis."

When the body of the pope was hoisted upon the steps of St. Peter's Basilica, the Papal Gentlemen turned the bier and lifted the pope's head to face the tens of thousands of people that filled St. Peter's Square. Cardinal Martínez Somalo noted it as the pope's symbolic last look at the devoted followers that had filled St. Peter's Square throughout the papacy of John Paul II.

The procession ended with the seating of the College of Cardinals and the placement of the bier carrying the body of John Paul on a catafalque in front of the steps leading to the altar of St. Peter's Basilica. The paschal candle was lit and the body of the Pope was incensed again by Cardinal Martínez Somalo. Prayers were said and a reading from the Gospels was performed by a deacon. After the College of Cardinals paid their respects and left the sanctuary, the basilica was closed and then reopened for the official lying in state to last until the day of the Mass of Requiem and subsequent interment.