Pope Francis mourned and gave thanks to his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, hours after his death on Saturday.
“My thought goes to dear Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI who left us this morning,” Francis said in a prayer service.
BENEDICT XVI: VATICAN IN UNCHARTED WATERS FOLLOWING DEATH OF RETIRED PONTIFF FOR FIRST TIME
“We are moved as we recall him as such a noble person, so kind. And we feel such gratitude in our hearts: gratitude to God for having given him to the Church and to the world,” Francis said in his remarks, according to a transcript provided by the Vatican News Service. “Gratitude to him for all the good he accomplished, and above all, for his witness of faith and prayer, especially in these last years of his life. Only God knows the value and the power of his intercession, of the sacrifices he offered for the good of the Church.”
Francis succeeded Benedict after Benedict’s shock decision in 2013 to abdicate the papacy, which hadn’t been done in nearly six centuries.
Benedict’s resignation prompted speculation that he did not willingly step down. In its aftermath, however, he denied speculation he was forced to step down, writing to an Italian newspaper, “There isn’t the slightest doubt about the validity of my resignation from the Petrine ministry.”
As the head of the church’s doctrinal office before becoming pope, the man, then known as Joseph Ratzinger, earned the nickname “God’s Rottweiler” for his firm adherence to church tradition and for censuring church figures who strayed from orthodoxy. Francis has stood out in contrast due to his more liberal approach to church teachings, and he has drawn criticism from conservatives within the church.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Vatican said that Benedict’s body would lie in state in St. Peter’s Square starting Monday and that Francis would preside over a funeral Thursday. Benedict requested a funeral marked by simplicity.
