Pope Benedict XVI died on the last day of 2022, but in 2023 his presence remained in the Vatican. A few days after his death, one of the people who knew him best, Cardinal Filoni, said these words about the German pope.
CARD. FERNANDO FILONI
Grand Master, Order of the Holy Sepulchre
He listened in silence. He paid attention to what was being said to him. It was something he did not only at work, but also when he was with students and when he was governing. He would always ask “What do you think?”about a problem or a situation and then he would decide.
Pope Francis also refelected on the words of his predecessor during the Mass for all the cardinals and bishops who have died in the last year.
POPE FRANCIS
I would like to recall the very first words with which Pope Benedict described himself following his election: “a humble laborer in the vineyard of the Lord.” Indeed, Christians, especially the Pope, the Cardinals and the Bishops, are called to be humble laborers, to serve, not to be served and to put the fruits of the Lord’s vineyard before their own.
Another of the most important moments of 2023 regarding Pope Benedict XVI were the awards that are held every year and bear his name, organized by the Ratzinger Foundation. This is the first award ceremony after his death.
FR. FEDERICO LOMBARDI
President of Joseph Ratzinger Foundation
This is the first time that this award ceremony is being held after the death of our beloved Pope Benedict XVI. That is to say, it has a different character than in the past, and we thought it appropriate to celebrate it under the title of Joseph Ratzinger's legacy, Benedict XVI.
Throughout the year, several books have been published on different subjects on Benedict XVI. In one of them, his shoemaker, the one who made his famous red papal shoes and the black ones that he was buried in, told his stories with the then cardinal and later pope.
Another book was written by Cardinal Julián Herranz, in which he narrates his memories with both Francis and Benedict XVI, both of which he was a close collaborator. He described Pope Benedict with these words:
CARD. JULIÁN HERRANZ
President emeritus, Dicastery for Legislative Texts
He is a father of the Church. He taught as a father of the Church how to know, how to treat, how to understand and how to love Christ in a pagan society like ours, with pagan tendencies. He did it with that extraordinary intelligence and humility that characterized him.
Pope Benedict XVI resigned in February 2013 after an eight-year pontificate. He died at the age of 95 in a monastery inside the Vatican.
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