Funeral of Benedict XVI: 135,000 pay their respects to Pope Emeritus

Some 135,000 pilgrims waited in line to pay their respects to Benedict XVI since Monday, Jan. 2, providing moving scenes of grief and gratitude on the first day the pope emeritus' body lay in state in St. Peter's Basilica.

Simple rituals of prayer, holy water, incense, and silent goodbyes began in darkness inside the Vatican’s Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, where he died Saturday at age 95.