Pope Francis greets Benedict XVI and thanks him “for all the good done”

Pope Francis paid moving tribute to his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, passed away this Saturday at the age of 95. “With emotion we remember such a noble and kind person”, said Francis during the New Year’s prayer in St. Peter’s Basilica.

“Speaking of kindness, at this moment my thoughts naturally go to the dearest pope emeritus Benedict XVI, who left us this morningThe Pontiff said this in the homily he delivered this Saturday during the celebration of First Vespers and the Te Deum of thanksgiving.

The pope emeritus passed away this Saturday in the early hours of Argentina in the Vatican monastery where he resided after his resignation.

Just before 7 in the morning in Argentina the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica rang and hundreds of people flocked to the square to remember Joseph Ratzinger, the refined ultra-conservative theologian who chose the name of Benedict XVI. after being named head of the Catholic Church in 2005.

For the first time in the millennial history of the institution, The reigning Pope, Francis, will preside over the funeral of a predecessor, who no longer held functions, on January 5 in St. Peter’s Square.

“According to the wish of the pope emeritus, the funeral will take place in the utmost simplicity,” said the pontifical spokesman.

At the end of the funeral, which will be held in St. Peter’s Square and which all the faithful will be able to attend without the need for a ticket, the coffin of the pontiff emeritus will be buried in the Vatican grottoeswhere they house the tombs of popes, the Vatican said in a statement.

The death of Benedict XVI puts an end to the unusual coexistence of two popes, both in white cassocks: Ratzinger and Bergoglio, a Jesuit who wanted a pontificate dedicated to the poor and migrants.

During the general audience on Wednesday, Francis had asked to pray for the health of his predecessor, who was “very ill” and whom he had gone to visit.

“With emotion we remember your person, so noble, so kind. And we feel so much gratitude in our hearts: gratitude to God for having given it to the Church and to the world; gratitude to him, for all the good he has doneand above all for his testimony of faith and prayer, especially in these last years of his retired life”, added Francis, elected on March 13, 2013 in the conclave convened after Ratzinger’s resignation.

“Only God knows the value and strength of his intercession, of his sacrifices offered for the good of the Church”, the Pope added this Saturday.

Francis will also lead the funeral which, on Thursday 5 January at 9.30 in Rome, will mark the last farewell to the pope emeritus, as indicated today by the director of the Holy See Press Office, in a framework in which there will be a ceremony “in the sign of simplicity” desired by Ratzinger.

Bergoglio and his predecessor were closely linked during the nearly ten years that Ratzinger lived in the Vatican as emeritus with Francis as pope.

Francisco had mentioned his relationship with Benedict less than two weeks ago.

“I visit him often and I come away edified by his transparent gaze. He lives in contemplation” He’s in a good mood, he’s lucid, very lively, he speaks in a low voice but the conversation goes on. I admire your intelligence. It’s big. He is a saint. He is a man of high spiritual life, ”he recalled in mid-December in statements to the Spanish newspaper ABC.

In this Saturday’s mass, the Pope also took the opportunity to denounce that “the damages of consumerist individualism are there for all to see”.

«And the most serious damage is that others, the people around us, are perceived as obstacles to our tranquillity, as we please», the Pope then affirmed, also complaining that «the individualistic and consumerist society tends to be aggressivebecause the others are competitors to compete with”.

Ratzinger, the first German pope of the modern era, replaced the charismatic John Paul II in 2005, who had been his right-hand man for a quarter of a century at the helm of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the former Holy Office of the Inquisition.

During his eight years of pontificate, his intention to rally 1.2 billion Catholic faithful against any opening on issues such as priestly celibacy, birth control or the acceptance of divorced or homosexuals has collided with a Church devoured by scandals and intrigues.

After his resignation, he promised to maintain an absolute retreat, without tailing Francisco.

But he has been involved, in some cases, involuntarily, according to observers, in the campaigns of ultra-conservative sectors who disapprove of the Argentine pontiff’s overtures in the social field.

And in early 2022, he was plagued by allegations that he covered up four cases of sexual abuse of minors when he was Archbishop of Munich, between 1977 and 1981.

Faced with pressure from a German report accusing him of negligence in handling these pedophilia cases, he broke his silence to ask for “pardon” and express his “deep” shame.

With information from agencies

db