“Lord, I love you!”—Archbishop Georg Gänswein, the late Pope Benedict XVI’s personal secretary, recounted emotionally that according to the nurse who took care of Pope Benedict, those were his last words, after which he was no longer able to express himself. He chose to endure the torment of illness and pain courageously. He had full faith in God, and accepted God’s guidance and arrangements for him to return to the house of the Father, and enjoy resurrection and eternal life with all the saints.
The Diocese of Hong Kong celebrated a requiem Mass at Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on the evening of January 4, with around 600 people in attendance. Together with the clergy, they bade farewell and paid their last respects to the 265th pope.
Born Joseph Ratzinger, he aspired to be a priest since childhood and grew up at a time when the Church was gradually losing its influence in Europe. His beliefs were challenged and questioned by various contemporary thoughts. The Church became more closed and disconnected from the world. It was against this background that Ratzinger joined the seminary. He received theological education that was gradually getting more liberal, and he constantly contemplated how he could re-establish and bring up-to-date the value of the Church and the faith.
When then Father Ratzinger was a professor of theology, he was well known for his enlightening teaching style, and his lectures catered well for the era. In 1977, he was ordained the Archbishop of Munich and Freising, and later that year was created a cardinal by Pope Paul VI. In 1981, he was appointed the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In 2005, he was elected Pope and took the name Benedict XVI.
Then 78-years-old, he was pontifff for almost eight years, during which he handled a number of controversial matters in a humble manner. For example, he was determined fo follow up on clerical sexual abuse incidents. He enacted a document entitled De Gravioribus Delictis containing regulations aimed at making law enforcement and prevention of sexual abuse more effective. There was a sharp increase in the number of priests suspended due to involvement in sexual abuse cases, and in the number of bishops sent away because of their mismanagement of the crisis. For financial scandals involving the Vatican, he initiated reforms to make the management of the Holy See’s financial affairs more transparent. He issued a motu proprio on 30 December 2010, which set out to prevent and combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
Pope Benedict attended three World Youth Days during his pontificate, in Cologne, Germany [2005]; Sydney, Australia [2008]; and Madrid, Spain [2011]. The gap in age did not affect the relationship between the pope and the young people. This kind shepherd was warmly welcomed and respected by young people. Wherever he went, he was surrounded by them, and they interacted most sincerely and truthfully.
Farewell to this faithful servant of God and great man of our time. As Pope Francis said, “Benedict XVI was a great pope.” SE
