Benedict XVI’s funeral will be held on Thursday, January 5, in St. Peter’s Square, at 9:30 a.m. Rome time (CEST). Pope Francis will be the officiant, according to Matteo Bruni, director of the press office of The Holy See.

Beginning Monday, January 2, the body of the pontiff will be transferred to the Basilica of St. Peter, “where the faithful can go with their prayers for a last meeting with the Pope Emeritus, to greet him and to say goodbye,” Bruni said during a press conference in Rome.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan has asked “every parish in the archdiocese to offer a Mass for the Good Lord’s mercy upon his gracious soul.” Cardinal Dolan will celebrate a previously scheduled Mass at Saint Augustine Parish in Highland, New York at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 31.

He will offer the 10:15 a.m. Mass on Sunday, January 1, 2023 in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral.