Pope Francis prays for Benedict XVI at new year mass as Vatican prepares to mourn former pontiff

Francis as the Madonna to accompany ‘our beloved’ Pope Emeritus Benedict ‘on his passage from this world to God’ during New Year’s Day mass

Pope Francis holds a mass for the solemnity of St Mary at the beginning of the new year in St Peter’s Basilica (AP)

Pope Francis prayed for former Pope Benedict XVI’s passage to heaven during a New Year’s Day mass, as the Vatican prepares for thousands of people to mourn the former pontiff ahead of his funeral this week.

Francis marked the Roman Catholic Church’s traditional World Day of Peace, as the body of Benedict, who died on Saturday at the age of 95, was being prepared for three days of public viewing in the same church starting on Monday.

On Sunday, the Vatican released the first images of the late Benedict, showing him dressed in red and gold liturgical vestments and laying in state in the chapel of the monastery where he died.

His body will be moved privately to the Basilica, unlike what followed the death in 2005 of Pope John Paul, whose body was moved in a solemn outdoor procession that was televised live around the world.

The first day of January is also the feast of the Mother of God and in his homily, Francis – who will preside over the funeral service on Thursday – asked the Madonna to accompany “our beloved” Pope Emeritus Benedict “on his passage from this world to God”. Benedict was also remembered in one of the prayers at the mass.

In his homily, Francis urged his listeners to work actively for peace, and not “waste time glued to a keyboard in front of a computer screen” but to “dirty our hands and to do some good”.

Later at his Sunday blessing in St Peter’s Square, Francis made another appeal for an end to the conflict in Ukraine, saying it was an “intolerable contrast” with the theme of the day.

On Saturday night the Vatican released Benedict’s two-page “spiritual testimony” written in 2006, a year after his election as pope. There was no explanation why Benedict did not update it as he became older. In it, he asked in a general, spiritual way that God would welcome him to internal life “despite all my sins and insufficiencies”.

While tributes to the former pope continued to be made by world leaders, and conservative members of the faithful, others were highly critical of his pontificate.

Some recalled the severe discipline he meted out to progressive theologians, particularly in Latin America, when he was head of the Vatican’s doctrinal department under Pope John Paul II. Those actions prompted liberal Catholics to dub then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger “God’s rottweiler”.

And while some have credited Benedict with taking important steps to formalise the Vatican’s response to clergy sexual abuse, victims’ groups accused him of not doing enough.

“In our view, the death of Pope Benedict XVI is a reminder that, much like John Paul II, Benedict was more concerned about the Church’s deteriorating image and financial flow to the hierarchy versus grasping the concept of true apologies followed by true amends to victims of abuse,” the anti-abuse group SNAP said.

Like many Vatican officials who worked with Benedict, Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet said he believed the German pontiff had left behind “a great legacy” as a man of God and a man of culture.

“I believe this is also a task for the future, to deeply rethink the Christian faith in the face of the challenges of our time,” Cardinal Ouellet said.

Reuters