The Catholic world is mourning the loss of Pope emeritus Benedict XVI, who passed away this morning, 95 years of age.
Pope Benedict has been for the world and for the universal flock of Christ, a great teacher and a revolutionary Pope. His remarkable theological mind transpires through his writings and homilies, both before and during his 8-year pontificate, leaving a very significant legacy to the Church in our century.
Being spiritually united with the Lateran Cathedral in Rome, which is the Seat of the Bishop of Rome, St George’s Parish enjoys a very special relationship with all popes. More so has been with Benedict XVI, since one of her priests, Mgr Alfred Xuereb, served as his second private secretary from 2007 to his resignation in 2013. Mgr Xuereb is today Apostolic Nuncio in Korea and Mongolia.
Also, Il-Ħaġar Museum houses the mitre the Holy Father used for Papal Mass at the Yankee Stadium in New York on the 20th of April 2008, and the zucchetto His Holiness used during the celebration of Holy Mass on the historic day of his Abdication from the See of Peter on the 11th of February 2013.
We pray for the repose of H.H. Pope Benedict XVI’s soul, remembering his holiness and wisdom, a shepherd of God’s people who was truly a “humble servant in the Lord’s vineyard”.