Pope Francis has his “dearest” predecessor Benedict XVI. tribute, who passed away today at the age of 95.
“With emotion we remember a person so noble, so kind,” he said at a New Year’s Eve service in St Peter’s Basilica, offering thanks “for all the good he has done” and underlining “his sacrifices offered for the good of the church”, reports RTE.
“We feel in our heart such gratitude, gratitude to God for having gifted him to the church and the world,” he said, reports RTE.
In a statement this morning, President Michael D. Higgins praised Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI saying that the former pope “sought to highlight both the common purpose of the world’s major religions and his injunctions as to how our individual responsibilities as citizens require the highest standards of ethics in our actions”, reports RTE.
According to RTE, President Higgins wrote: “It is with sadness that Catholics around the world will have learned of the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. At this time of the return of war on our continent and in so many areas of the world, he will be remembered for his untiring efforts to find a common path in promoting peace and goodwill throughout the world, including a steadfast interest in peace in Northern Ireland.”
Archbishop Eamon Martin, primate of all Ireland, described Benedict as “an extraordinary teacher” and “one of the greatest theologians”.
Archbishop Martin was appointed bishop by the former pope just weeks before he resigned from the papacy.
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby called Benedict “one of the greatest theologians of his age”.
In a statement, he said “Benedict was committed to the faith of the Church and stalwart in its defence”, reports RTE.
He added: “In all things, not least in his writing and his preaching, he looked to Jesus Christ, the image of the invisible God. It was abundantly clear that Christ was the root of his thought and the basis of his prayer,” reports RTE.
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