Papal requiems as political events since the end of the papal state

Abstract

The article gives an overview of the papal requiems between 1878 and 2005 interpreted as political and media events. The burial of Pius IX (1878) was the first after the loss of the papal state (1870) and was overshadowed by the tensions between the newly established Kingdom of Italy and the Holy See. The requiem was not visited by any state delegate and the later transport of the papal corpse was accompanied by violent demonstrations. The requiem for Pius XII (1958) proceeded quite differently with representatives of more than 50 countries and international organisations present. This first attendance of official state delegations at a papal requiem was determined by Cold War tensions. Henceforth the papal burials turned more and more into a political summit and were used as an opportunity for informal encounters. The climax of this development was reached in 2005, when almost every state sent a delegation to the requiem for John Paul II. At the same time the importance of the modern mass media for the reporting and the construction of the event 'the Death of the Pope' increased. The agenda of this event is set by the media and without them would hardly be imaginable.