Just hours after a funeral Mass was celebrated Jan. 5 in Rome for the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the faithful gathered in Washington, D.C., at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception for a Mass of thanksgiving for the late pope’s life and to pray for the repose of his soul.
“As we come to mourn the passing of Benedict XVI … we recognize in the pontificate of Pope Benedict the gift to the entire Church, calling each of us back to the fundamental truth wherein we find our life of joy,” said Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the United States. “May Pope Benedict now know the eternal rejoicing that is found only before God’s face in the company of the saints.”
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who served as pope from 2005 until his resignation in 2013, died on Dec. 31 at the age of 95.
The papal nuncio was the principal celebrant of the nearly two-hour midday liturgy that was attended by more than 500 people, including members of religious orders and officials of diplomatic missions attached to the United States.
Calling it his sad duty to offer the Mass for the late pope emeritus, Archbishop Pierre said, “Our sadness today is also tinged with fond recollection and gratitude to God for the life and ministry of this extraordinary pastor, theologian, author, bishop and Christian.”
Archbishop Pierre said that “the great prayer” of the Mass would accompany and sustain Pope Benedict “as he journeys towards eternity.” Concelebrants at the Mass included Bishop Barry Knestout of Richmond, Virginia; Washington Auxiliary Bishop Roy Campbell Jr.; and Baltimore Auxiliary Bishop Bruce Lewandowski. About 25 priests also concelebrated the Mass.
During the Mass, the archbishop said that many in the National Shrine would “recall with affection and fondness the manner in which he touched the people of these United States,” especially with his 2008 visit to this country.
When in Washington during that visit, Pope Benedict offered Mass at Nationals Park. The chalice and ciborium from that papal Mass were used at the Jan. 5 Memorial Mass. The late pope also visited the National Shrine, where he presided over solemn vespers, addressed the bishops of the United States, and bestowed the Papal Rose upon the basilica, a rare honor granted to a church of special significance.
Archbishop Pierre said there were many aspects to Benedict’s life – his childhood in Bavaria and life during the war, his scholarship in theology, his long tenure as a professor of theology, serving as a peritus (expert) at Vatican II, his role as a bishop, serving as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, his tenure as pope and then as pope emeritus.
“His life was characterized by his search for the face of the living God, by his desire to put God at the center of things and to bring others to God – it is that mission his legacy will call us to today,” Archbishop Pierre said.
The papal nuncio pointed out that the Gospel reading from John 21:15-17 at the National Shrine Mass – where Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him, Peter responds “Yes, Lord, you know I love you,” and Jesus then exhorts the apostle to “feed my sheep” – was the same Gospel passage read at Benedict’s installation Mass as pope on April 24, 2005.
“The life of Pope Benedict, it seems to me, was characterized by the same answer as Joseph Ratzinger – ‘Yes Lord, you know I love you,’” Archbishop Pierre said, adding that Benedict devoted his papacy “to focusing on the things of God and prompting us to be attentive to them.”
Recalling how Pope Benedict published the three-volume series of books “Jesus of Nazareth” on the life of Christ, Archbishop Pierre said the late pope called the books his “personal search for the face of the Lord.”
The archbishop said the late pope “invited us to the same essential search … because to Benedict, faith was not an idea, it was not an ideology – it was an encounter with God.”
Msgr. Walter Rossi, rector of the National Shrine, said the Mass was an opportunity to “give thanks to Almighty God for the life of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, and pray that he now receives the reward of his faithful service as priest, bishop and pope.”
During the Mass, prayers were offered that the late pope “be welcomed with love and joy into the heavenly home of the Father.”
Prior to the Mass, several people gathered at the National Shrine to pray for Pope Benedict. “I always liked him,” said Angela Olesky. “I liked (Saint) John Paul II, and I liked Benedict. I’m glad I could come to pray for him today.”
For Aaron Roscoe, admiration for the late pope was mixed with sympathy for him.
“I kind of felt sorry for him. He seemed to me a shy and scholarly man who had to follow in the footsteps of a gregarious pope,” Roscoe said. “I always thought he would be more comfortable out of the public eye.”
At the end of the Mass, books of condolences were made available by the Vatican Embassy for the faithful to sign and remembrance cards were distributed.
Artifacts from Pope Benedict’s 2008 visit to the National Shrine – including the Papal Rose, the papal throne crafted for him to preside over vespers and his meeting with the bishops there, and the zucchetto he wore during his visit – continue to be on display for public viewing.
