Month: January 2023

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News Briefs

VIDEO AND PHOTOS: Thousands gather to pay final respects to body of Benedict XVI

January 2, 2023 Catholic News Agency 3
Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, the archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, presided over a brief ritual upon the arrival of Benedict XVI’s body in St. Peter’s Basilica on Jan. 2, 2023, sprinkling the body with holy water and offering prayers for the repose of his soul. / Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jan 2, 2023 / 04:54 am (CNA).

The mortal remains of Benedict XVI were moved early Monday morning to St. Peter’s Basilica, where the late pope will lie in state until Jan. 4.

Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, the archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, presided over a brief ritual after Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s body was carried up the center aisle of the basilica at 7:15 a.m.

The cardinal solemnly incensed the body and sprinkled it with holy water as a choir chanted sung prayers offered for the repose of his soul. 

Benedict XVI is lying in state directly in front of the main altar of St. Peter’s Basilica, above the tomb of the Church’s first pope, St. Peter. 

The former pope was dressed in red and gold vestments and wearing a gold miter. Popes are traditionally dressed in red for their funerals. 

Benedict XVI had his rosary in his folded hands. He was wearing ordinary black clerical shoes, not the red shoes he famously wore during his reign.

Thousands of people waited in a long line on Jan. 2 to enter the basilica, some waiting before sunrise, to pray and pay their respects to Benedict XVI, who led the Catholic Church from 2005 to 2013.

Father Alexander Lashuk, a Byzantine Catholic priest from Toronto, was in line early Monday morning. He told CNA that the line to see the late pope “was the usual Roman chaos, but when you entered St Peter’s it turned into a great hush.”

“People of all ages and from all over the world approached a dead father. You could hear whispers of the rosary. I was very blessed to be in Rome these days,” he said.

Lashuk reflected: “I am part of that generation that was really impacted by Benedict XVI – certainly as pontiff but even before his election through his theological writings that really planted seeds of our vocations. I know many people who were drawn to seminary or even became Catholic after encountering his writings.”

Religious sisters, priests, and families took time to pause and pray in front of Benedict’s body throughout the day on Monday. Some were visibly moved to shedding tears. Others remained silent or quietly prayed the rosary.

Two Swiss Guards flanked Benedict’s body and some mourners were able to kneel and pray on either side of the deceased pope.

The public will be able to view his body until 7 p.m. in the days leading up to his funeral on Jan. 5. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the basilica will open earlier at 7 a.m., allowing 12 hours each day for the faithful to say their final goodbyes to the beloved former pope.

St. Peter’s Basilica is continuing to hold Masses at the Altar of the Chair throughout the day immediately behind where Benedict XVI is lying in state. 

Following the funeral for Benedict XVI in St. Peter’s Square, the late pope’s remains will be entombed in the Vatican crypt under St. Peter’s Basilica.

You can watch EWTN’s live coverage of Benedict’s death from Rome here, and a video of EWTN’s coverage Monday below.

This is a developing story.

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News Briefs

U.S. cardinals react to Benedict XVI’s death

January 1, 2023 Catholic News Agency 3
New cardinal Timothy Michael Dolan (L), Archbishop of New York, receives the biretta cap from Pope Benedict XVI in Saint Peter’s Basilica on February 18, 2012 in Vatican City, Vatican. / Franco Origlia/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 1, 2023 / 11:33 am (CNA).

Since the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, members of the College of Cardinals from the United States have offered tributes to the late pope who they remember as a “scholar” and “true disciple.”

Here is a round-up of statements from the U.S. cardinals:

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archdiocese of New York

Cardinal Timothy Dolan called Benedict XVI “a good shepherd and Holy Father.” In an interview with Newsmax Dolan shared that he met Benedict XVI “innumerable times” and was “always impressed with his ability to listen,” adding that “he knew the biblical, that before you can be a teacher you’ve got to be a listener.”  

Dolan compared Benedict’s passing to losing a grandparent or elderly parent, saying “we knew it was coming,” but that “it’s still a shock when it comes.” 

In a statement, Dolan said, “The human family grieves the passing of this erudite, wise, and holy man, who spoke the truth with love.”

Dolan called to mind Benedict XVI’s pastoral visit to the Archdiocese of New York in 2008 and shared his personal sense of loss at the former pope’s death, saying, “he was so encouraging, and appointed me Archbishop of New York and nominated me a Cardinal.”

Dolan said Benedict’s legacy will be that of “faith and reason” and called for every parish in his archdiocese to offer a Mass for Benedict’s soul, concluding, “may the angels lead him into paradise!” 

Read Dolan’s full statement here.

Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archdiocese of Chicago

Cardinal Blase Cupich stated that “Pope Benedict XVI taught us that belief in God means completely placing our trust in Divine Providence.”

“Throughout his life as a scholar and as a churchman, he showed us what it means to fulfill the ancient command to love God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind,” said Cupich.

“I think he will be remembered as a man who was single-focused on serving others and serving God,” Cupich told ABC 7.

Read Cupich’s full statement here. 

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo said that “it is with deep sadness and hope in the Resurrection that we mourn the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.” 

DiNardo called Benedict a “true pastor of souls and son of the Church,” saying the former pope “shepherded the Church with great love.” 

“His keen intellect invigorated the New Evangelization,” said DiNardo, and inspired “countless men and women to spread the Gospel by the example of their lives.” 

“May the Lord now welcome this faithful servant into the heavenly liturgy of the Wedding Feast of the Lamb,” DiNardo said. 

Read DiNardo’s full statement here. 

Cardinal Sean O’Malley, Archdiocese of Boston

“Today, a loving God called Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI home to his eternal reward for a lifetime of dedicated service to the Church,” said Cardinal Sean O’Malley. 

“Perhaps the most moving experience for me was accompanying survivors of clergy sexual abuse to a meeting with the Holy Father in Washington, D.C. during his 2008 pastoral visit to the United States,” O’Malley said. “Pope Benedict XVI recognized the pain experienced by survivors and all persons impacted by the abuse crisis.”

“I will miss Pope Benedict,” said O’Malley. “His fidelity to maintaining the truth and clarity of the Catholic faith, cultivating ecumenical and interfaith dialogue and reaching out to inspire the next generation of Catholics have been great gifts to us all.”

Read O’Malley’s full statement here.

Cardinal Joseph Tobin, Archdiocese of Newark

Cardinal Joseph Tobin shared his prayer for the former pope, saying, “May the Angels lead you into paradise; may the martyrs greet you at your arrival and lead you into the holy city, Jerusalem. May the choir of Angels greet you and like Lazarus, who once was poor, may you have eternal rest” (In Paradism). May he rest in the peace of Christ.” 

Cardinal Robert McElroy, Diocese of San Diego

“The death of Pope Benedict is a moment of both sadness and gratitude,” said Cardinal Robert McElroy, who was appointed a cardinal just this May.

McElroy called Benedict a “theologian of immense depth” as well as a “caring pastor” and a “prayerful servant who unswervingly sought to follow the pathway to which God was calling him.”

“In faith we know that he goes to the loving embrace of the God whom he had served with sacrifice and courage, brilliance and wisdom, humility and kindness for his entire life,” said McElroy.

Read the full statement here. 

Cardinal Raymond Burke

“It was my honor to serve him as Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura,” said Cardinal Raymond Burke, prefect emeritus of the Apostolic Signatura and archbishop emeritus of the Archdiocese of St. Louis. “In my meetings with him, while he was still Roman Pontiff and after his abdication, I was always impressed by his extraordinary intelligence and knowledge, coupled with Christ-like meekness.”

Burke said that Benedict’s teaching regarding the sacred liturgy will remain “a lasting and living heritage.” 

“He was an especially gifted teacher of the Catholic Faith with a particular appreciation of the highest and most perfect expression of the Faith: Sacred Worship,” said Burke. 

Burke called the former pope’s passing “sad,” saying that Benedict had “continued to be a source of many graces for the Church, especially by the offering of his prayers and sufferings for so many needs of the Church in our time.”

Read Burke’s full statement here. 

Cardinal Justin Rigali

“I had the privilege of knowing Pope Benedict for many years, going back to his time as a cardinal of the Church — Cardinal Ratzinger,” said Cardinal Justin Rigali, archbishop emeritus of Philadelphia. 

Rigali recalled his participation in the election of Benedict XVI, saying, “it was a privilege to participate in the election of Pope Benedict. I can remember when I went up to the pope and knelt before him to show my respect and offer to him my pledge to be faithful and obedient, the first thing that Pope Benedict said to me was, ‘Happy Birthday, your eminence.’ It was my 70th birthday. Pope Benedict remembered that, and that is a memory I will always carry with me.”

Read more of Rigali’s statements here. 

Cardinal James Stafford

Cardinal James Stafford, who participated in the former pope’s election, called Benedict XVI “a true disciple,” Denver Catholic reported.

“Pope Benedict XVI was dedicated to the mystery of Jesus of Nazareth,” said Stafford, archbishop emeritus of the Archdiocese of Denver. 

Stafford shared, “In afternoon walks in the Vatican Gardens I sometimes encountered Pope Benedict. I thought that here was a true disciple ‘who walks with Jesus and is thus caught up with Him into communion with God.’” Concluding, “May he rest in peace!” 

Read more of Stafford’s statement here. 

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News Briefs

Pope Francis: Let Mary teach you what to do in the New Year

January 1, 2023 Catholic News Agency 3
Pope Francis’ Angelus message on Jan. 1, 2023, marked the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. An estimated 40,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the event. / Vatican Media

Rome Newsroom, Jan 1, 2023 / 08:31 am (CNA).

Let Mary, the Mother of God, be your guide in the New Year, Pope Francis said on Sunday, the first day of 2023.

In his Angelus address before a crowd of an estimated 40,000 people in St. Peter’s Square Jan. 1, the pope said: “As we contemplate Mary in the stable where Jesus was born, let us ask ourselves: What languages does the Holy Virgin use to speak to us? How does Mary speak?”

“What can we learn from her for this year that is dawning?” he added. “We can say: Virgin Mary, teach us what we should do this year.”

The pope’s message preceding the Angelus prayer was delivered on the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. Pope Francis also celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica earlier in the day to mark the feast day.

At the beginning of his Angelus message, Pope Francis remembered his predecessor, Benedict XVI, who died on Dec. 31 at the age of 95.

Echoing his words at Mass Sunday, he invited Catholics to invoke the Virgin Mary’s intercession for Benedict. “Let us all join together, with one heart and one soul, in thanking God for the gift of this faithful servant of the Gospel and of the Church,” he said.

‘The language of love’

His Angelus reflection focused on the “language of Mary,” specifically her tenderness and care for the Baby Jesus.

The Gospel of Luke describes the shepherds’ encounter with the Holy Family, and how they saw the infant Jesus “lying in the manger.”

“This verb ‘to lay’ means to carefully place, and tells us that the language proper to Mary is maternal: She tenderly takes care — this is the language of Mary — to tenderly take care of the Child. This is Mary’s greatness,” he said.

He described a noisy scene: the angels celebrating Christ’s birth and the shepherds running to meet Jesus with everyone loudly praising God.

Instead, “Mary does not speak,” Francis said, “she does not steal the show — we like to steal the show! On the contrary, she puts the Child in the center, she lovingly takes care of him.”

The pope recalled a line of poetry from the Italian writer Alda Merini, which says that Mary “even knew how to be solemnly mute, […] because she did not want to lose sight of her God.” 

All mothers do the same, he said: “After having carried the gift of a mysterious prodigy in her womb for nine months, mothers constantly put their babies at the center of their attention: They feed them, they hold them in their arms, they tenderly lay them down in the crib.”

The Mother of God’s language is “a language of a mother,” he added.

Mary, Pope Francis said, “reminds us that, if we truly want the New Year to be good, if we want to reconstruct hope, we need to abandon the language, those actions and those choices inspired by egoism, and learn the language of love, which is to take care.”

He continued: “This is the commitment: to take care of our lives, of our time, of our souls; to take care of creation and the environment we live in; and even more, to take care of our neighbor, of those whom the Lord has placed alongside us, as well as our brothers and sisters who are in need and who call for our attention and our compassion.”

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