Pope Francis came out onto St. Peter’s Square this morning being pushed in a wheelchair for the funeral of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI.

He stood several times as he led prayers, but was seated through most of the funeral Mass, reading his homily while seated.

“Because of his difficulties both with his leg as well as his back, he is not going to be the principal celebrant,” said EWTN commentator the Rev. Roger J. Landry during the Alabama-based EWTN Global Catholic Network’s live coverage Thursday of the funeral Mass.

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, was the principal celebrant for the funeral Mass. Re consecrated the Eucharist and sprinkled Benedict’s casket with holy water.

Pope Francis delivered the homily in Italian at about 10 a.m. in Rome, about 3 a.m. Central time for those watching in Alabama, because of the 7-hour time difference from Rome.

“Like the women at the tomb, we too have come with the fragrance of gratitude and the balm of hope, in order to show him once more the love that is undying,” Pope Francis said. “We want to do this with the same wisdom, tenderness and devotion that he bestowed upon us over the years. Together, we want to say, ‘Father, into your hands we commend his spirit.’ Benedict, faithful friend of Jesus the bridegroom, may your joy be complete as you hear his voice, now and forever.”

It was the first papal funeral since that of Pope John Paul II in 2005. Benedict, then known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, presided over that funeral.

But it was the first funeral for a former pope presided at by a sitting pope who succeeded him.

“It’s a retired pope, being buried without friction, without crisis, with love, by his successor,” said EWTN commentator the Rev. Raymond de Souza. “This is something we’ve never seen before, ever, in the history of the church.”

Benedict, who served as pope from 2005 to 2013, became the first pope in 600 years to resign from the post.

Benedict died on Dec. 31. He was 95.

EWTN will broadcast re-runs of the funeral this afternoon at 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.

The difficulty walking caused Pope Francis to cancel planned trips last year to Lebanon and Africa.

Pope Francis was visibly limping during Holy Week of 2022 and since then has frequently relied on a wheelchair and walking cane while also undergoing daily physical therapy for strained ligaments in his right knee. He revealed in an interview last summer that he had suffered a small fracture in the knee when he took a misstep while a ligament was inflamed. He said he had difficulty standing for too long a time. He has experienced arthritis in his knee and hip but said he declined knee surgery because of negative side effects he experienced from anesthesia when he had part of his colon removed in 2021 because of diverticulitis.

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How to watch Pope Benedict XVI funeral on EWTN

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