Papa Francesco he returned to pray for “the beloved pope emeritus Benedict XVI” during the mass at the beginning of the year in St. Peter’s, solemnity of Mary mother of God.
“At the beginning of this year, we need hope like the land of rain”, said the Pope. “The year, which opens in the sign of the Mother of God and ours, tells us that the key to hope is Mary, and the antiphon of hope is the invocation Holy Mother of God. And today – he added – we entrust to the most holy Mother the beloved Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI to accompany him in his passage from this world to God”. In these hours, Francis reiterated in the noon Angelus, amid the applause of the faithful present inside the Bernian colonnade, “we invoke your intercession in particular for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who left this world yesterday morning. We unite all together, with one heart and one soul, in giving thanks to God for the gift of this faithful servant of the Gospel and of the Church”.
From tomorrow the body exposed to St. Peter’s
From tomorrow, Monday, the body of Benedict XVI will be exposed to the faithful in the Vatican basilica, Thursday 5 the Pope will celebrate the funeral in St. Peter’s square.
Joseph Ratzinger died yesterday morning at 9.34 in the Mater Ecclesiae monastery in the Vatican, where he had retired following his historic resignation in 2013. Last Wednesday, at the end of the general audience, Pope Francis asked the faithful present for prayers for his predecessor , “very ill”. Yesterday evening, on the occasion of the traditional “Te Deum” of thanksgiving at the end of the year in the Vatican basilica, Francis expressed gratitude “for his testimony of faith and prayer, especially in these last years of his retired life”.
The Vatican spokesman confirmed today that Francis, advised by Ratzinger’s personal secretary, mgr. Georg Gaensweinwas the first to go to the Mater Ecclesiae monastery shortly after the death of his predecessor, before 10, and left shortly after 10.
The faithful prayed today, at the Mass presided over by the Pope, for “Pope Emeritus Benedict, supreme pastor, who always lives to intercede for us”, invoking God to “welcome him graciously into the kingdom of light and peace”.
Best wishes to Mattarella and Meloni
At the end of the Angelus, the Pope sent his best wishes to the president Sergio Mattarella and to the premier Giorgia Meloni. “I express deep gratitude to the President of the Italian Republic, Mr Sergio Mattarella, invoking prosperity for the Italian people. Also the same wishes for the President of the Government”, said Francesco
Today’s anniversary, which coincides with the World Day of Peace which the Catholic Church celebrates every year, was an opportunity for Francis to invoke peace in this historic moment: “On this day which Saint Paul VI wished to dedicate to prayer and reflection for peace in the world we feel even more intolerable the contrast of war which in Ukraine and other regions sows death and destruction.However – he continued – let us not lose hope because we have faith in God who in Jesus Christ has opened the way for us to peace. The experience of the pandemic teaches us that no one can save themselves alone but that together we can travel paths of peace and development. Throughout the world, the cry rises from all peoples: no to war, no to rearmament, resources go to development : health, nutrition, education and work”.