Spaniards mourn former Pope Benedict

Record ID: 1704788

  • Title: Spaniards mourn former Pope Benedict
  • Date: 31st December 2022
  • Summary: MADRID, SPAIN (DECEMBER 31, 2022) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF ALMUDENA CATHEDRAL VARIOUS OF PEOPLE PASSING CATHEDRAL (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) DOCTOR NATIVIDAD SAYING: “It is sad, very sad, he was a great figure not only on a religious level, but also one of the world's most important intellectual figures of the 20th century in the world, of course.” (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) TEACHER PATXI ABADIA SAYING: “Whenever a person dies, we always feel a bit sorry, especially when it is the Pope, who is the head of the church. For so many believers out there, we feel bad today.” (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) ITALIAN TEACHERS WORKING IN MADRID LOREDANA SAYING: "Pope Ratzinger was a great man, and he understood when it was the moment to leave the post for Pope Francis, because he was not in good health. He was a great man, I am very sorry, very sorry." (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) DOCTOR NATIVIDAD SAYING: “He leaves a spiritual legacy, fundamentally, and the legacy of having taught us how to combine spirituality with reasoning.” (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) DOCTOR MIGUEL MOLAN SAYING: “Trying to unify the people, striving for peace, may be the best thing he has ever done.” PEOPLE QUEUING TO ENTER CATHEDRAL PEOPLE ENTERING CATHEDRAL MAN TAKING PICTURE OF CATHEDRAL
  • Embargoed: 14th January 2023 11:13
  • Keywords: Almudena Benedict Madrid Pope Spain cathedral former Pope Benedit death papacy reax voxpops
  • Location: MADRID, SPAIN
  • City: MADRID, SPAIN
  • Country: Spain
  • Topics: Europe,Religion/Belief,Society/Social Issues
  • Reuters ID: LVA001968331122022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Spaniards paid tribute to former Pope Benedict after the death of the pontiff was announced on Saturday (December 31).
    Benedict, who in 2013 became the first pontiff in 600 years to step down, died aged 95 in a secluded monastery in the Vatican where he had lived since stepping down.
    Emotional locals outside Almudena Cathedral, in central Madrid, remembered Joseph Ratzinger.
    “He was a great figure not only on a religious level, but also one of the world's most important intellectual figures of the 20th century in the world,” said 64-year-old doctor Natividad.
    The Vatican said his body would lie in state from Monday in St.Peter's Basilica. The Vatican has painstakingly elaborate rituals for what happens after a reigning pope dies but no publicly known ones for a former pope.
    Former Pope Benedict visited Spain three times, travelling to Valencia, Santiago de Compostela, Barcelona, and Madrid.
    His last appearance in Spain was on World Youth Day in the Spanish capital in 2011.
    (Production: Guillermo Martinez, Elena Rodriguez)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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