The coffin of Benedict XVI arrives at a crowded St. Peter's Square for the funeral

• Vatican Flags at half mast to bid farewell to Benedict XVI with a funeral fit for a reigning Pope

• Vatican The death of Benedict XVI opens the door to a split in the Church

The flags rose at half mast in Italy today to bid farewell to the Pope emeritus, Benedict XVI, with a funeral worthy of a reigning Pontiff, despite his express desire for "sobriety" in his final farewell.

In a fog-shrouded early morning in Rome,

to attend the funeral of the German theologian, which began at 9:30 in the morning and is presided over by the current Pope Francis.

The police, who maintain tight control of the perimeter, estimate that

to witness a mass that brings together more than 3,700 priests, official delegations from Italy and Germany, the native country of Joseph Ratzinger, and politicians and authorities from different countries.

The funeral chapel of Benedict XVI closed its doors yesterday at 7:00 p.m. after three days open to the public;

Some 200,000 people filed past the body of the pope emeritus in St. Peter's Basilica.

This morning, the masses were still thronging the Vatican City in long lines to access the compound,

, his native region.

"He was the Pope of my childhood, my grandmother always made me see him on TV. Now he is no longer here and I am also here for her," Martina Chiari, 22, who came expressly, told Corriere della Sera. from Florence with two friends to attend the funeral.

The coffin of Benedict XVI was transferred shortly before 9:00 a.m. to the altar installed in the square, carried on the shoulders of a group of twelve sediarians, the former bearers of the Popes' Gestatory Chair, while the faithful prayed the rosary .

After the religious ceremony, for which the final readings and pleas have been modified, the coffin with

, where other popes rest, and in the former tomb of John Paul II. until 2011, when it was transferred to the surface of the temple.

The main difference in protocol between the obsequies of a reigning pope, such as John Paul II, and the farewell of Benedict XVI is that

, where the German has not lived since 2013, with all the cardinals following him in sentence.

Nor will the traditional conclave to elect a new head of the church be held, and the nine-day period of mourning that follows each death of a Pontiff will not be declared.

Among the personalities attending the funeral are

and Queen Emeritus, Doña Sofía, who will represent Spain together with the Minister of the Presidency, Relations with the Parliament and Democratic Memory, the socialist Félix Bolaños.

Also representatives of politics such as the presidents of Poland,

;

that of Hungary,

;

the one from Portugal,

(who has declared a day of national mourning in his country, with a strong Catholic tradition), or from Slovenia,

, as well as the Polish 'premier',

, the Hungarian,

, or the French Interior Minister,

.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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