Pope Francis presided over the service, which was attended by some 50,000 mourners.
Benedict in 2013 became the first pope in 600 years to retire, and he chose to live out his retirement in seclusion.
The Pope used a speech in Greece to warn Europe of the populist and authoritarian threats to democracy.
While serving as archbishop of Buenos Aires, Francis endorsed civil unions for gay couples as an alternative to same-sex marriages.
Pope Francis has traveled to the tomb of his nature-loving namesake to sign an encyclical laying out his vision of a post-COVID world built on solidarity, fraternity and care for the environment.
Pope Francis is next month set to make what would be his first visit outside Rome since Italy was put under lockdown in early March when it became the first country in Europe to feel the full brunt of the coronavirus pandemic.
Pope Francis is calling for solidarity the world over to confront the 'epochal challenge' posed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Cardinal George Pell is welcoming Australia’s highest court clearing him of child sex crimes.
Praying in a desolately empty St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis has likened the coronavirus pandemic to a storm laying bare people's illusions that they can be self-sufficient.
Pope Francis has canceled his planned day trip to Malta on May 31 due to the coronavirus.