Benedict to be placed in JP II's former tomb

(ANSA) - ROME, JAN 2 - Former pope Benedict XVI, who died on New Year's Eve aged 95, will be placed in the former tomb of Pope Saint John Paul II in the bowels of St Peter's, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Monday, confirming earlier reports.
    The late Polish pope, who died in 2005 aged 85, was moved from the tomb and up into the Basilica following his beatification in 2011.
    John Paul II went on to become a saint in 2014 in a joint canonization with an earlier pope, John XXIII.
    Bruni said Benedict would be buried immediately after his funeral on Thursday.
    The head of the Vatican press office also confirmed that the only two official delegations will be the Italian and German ones.
    Countless faithful are filing past Benedict's body as it lies in state ahead of the funeral. President Sergio Mattarella and Premier Giorgia Meloni were among the first to pay homage to the late emeritus pope, who sensationally resigned in 2013, after the ceremony was opened to the public at nine o'clock Monday.
    (ANSA).