Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly on Saturday remembered Pope Benedict XVI, "pope emeritus," as a "great and holy priest and teacher" whose magisterium and theological insights, as Pope Francis recently affirmed, "are not directed towards the past, but are fruitful for the future."
Benedict, the shy German theologian who tried to reawaken Christianity in a securalized Europe but will forever be remembered as the first pontiff in 600 years to resign from the job, died Saturday at 95.
Benedict stunned the world on Feb. 11, 2013, when he announced, in his typical, soft-spoken Latin, that he no longer had the strength to run the 1.2 billion-strong Catholic church that he had steered for eight years through scandal and indifference.
His dramatic decision paved the way for the conclave that elected Pope Francis as his successor. The two popes then lived side by side in the Vatican gardens, an unprecedented arrangement that set the stage for future "popes emeritus" to do the same.
"Pope Benedict XVI's encyclicals, books, homilies and other writings form a theological treasury and profound testimony to Jesus Christ and His Church, which he served with such humility and fidelity," Kelly said in a statement.
Benedict was a teacher, theologian and academic to the core: quiet and pensive with a fierce mind. He spoke in paragraphs, not soundbites. He had a weakness for orange Fanta as well as his beloved library; when he was elected pope, he had his entire study moved — as is — from his apartment just outside the Vatican walls into the Apostolic Palace. The books followed him to his retirement home.
"In them are all my advisers," he said of his books in the 2010 book-length interview "Light of the World." "I know every nook and cranny, and everything has its history."
It was Benedict's devotion to history and tradition that endeared him to members of the traditionalist wing of the Catholic church. For them, Benedict remained even in retirement a beacon of nostalgia for the orthodoxy and Latin Mass of their youth — and the pope they much preferred over Francis.
"As we continue to be confirmed and strengthened by Pope Benedict's teachings about the eternal truths of our faith, Knights of Columbus throughout the world join in prayer for the repose of his soul."
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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