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Tomb of Pope Benedict XVI opens to public to pay respects

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Tomb of Pope Benedict XVI opens to public to pay respects days after funeral

The Vatican Grottoes opened on Sunday so the public can visit the late Pope Benedict XVI’s tomb.

Former Pope Benedict was buried on Thursday, January 5, in the same spot in the crypts under St. Peter’s Basilica where Pope John Paul II was originally interred in 2005 before his body was moved up to a chapel in the basilica in 2011.

Benedict’s death on December 31 brought to an end a decade of the former and present pope living side-by-side in the Vatican.

In 2013 Benedict shocked the world by becoming the first pope in 600 years to resign instead of reigning for life.

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