THE NEW YEAR’S Eve was uniquely marked by the return of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI to the Lord. Prior to the official announcement of his death, news of the decline of his health had already spread: Pope Francis called on the faithful to pray for Pope Benedict XVI at the end of the public audience on December 28. Churches around the world in Britain, France, Germany, Italy and other countries answered the appeal to pray for the former pope. Other Christian groups also responded, entrusting everything to God.
Pope Benedict XVI—Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger before his election to the papacy in 2005 at the age of 78—became the eighth German pope in history. He chose the name “Benedict” to commemorate and emulate Pope Benedict XV’s spirit of striving for peace and unity during the First World War.
During the eight years of his pontificate, he had made great contributions in promoting the theological development of the Church. His encyclicals and his book Jesus of Nazareth, called for people to rediscover the inevitable relationship between sacrificial love, charity work, devotion to the truth and the Christian gospel.
Pope Benedict XVI is considered one of the most important theologians of the contemporary Church. He participated as a theological advisor to the Second Vatican Council from 1962 to 1964. Even in his 30s, he was actively promoting and defending the study of work of the council.
Pope Benedict also had some connections with the Diocese of Hong Kong. In early March 1993, the then Cardinal Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, visited Macau and Hong Kong. He first visited the ruins of St. Paul’s in Macau and met with the late Bishop Domingos Lam Ka Tseung. He then came to Hong Kong to speak at a meeting organised by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences.
He was accompanied by the Father John Tong Hon [later auxiliary bishop of Hong Kong, the bishop and cardinal] as he visited the Holy Spirit Seminary and the Holy Spirit Study Centre. He also met with John Baptist Cardinal Wu Cheng-chung, the bishop at the time.
During his pontificate, Pope Bendict would elevate Joseph Cardinal Zen Ze-kiun and John Cardinal Tong to the College of Cardinals in 2006 and in 2012.
In 2007, he published his Letter to Bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, and lay faithful of the Catholic Church in the People’s Republic of China, which reiterated the principles of the Church regarding the appointment of bishops and the illicit ordination of bishops in the mainland China. It also asked the faithful on the mainland to work toward reconciliation between official and unofficial communities
Pope Benedict resigned the papal ministry on 28 February 2013 citing poor health, making him the first pope to retire in nearly 600 years. His 71 years of priestly life, of loving the Lord and others, was described by Pope Francis as “the testimony of love for the Church” and deserves our unreserved gratitude. SE
