The Pope Francisco expressed his “gratitude” to his predecessor, the emeritus pontiff Benedict XVI, died that Saturday. “Only God knows the value and strength of his intercession”, he said in the celebration of the first closing vespers of the year in the Basilica of Saint Peter.
“Speaking of kindness, right now, the thought goes spontaneously to the dearest pope emeritus Benedict XVI, which this morning has left us. With shock, we remember his personality, so noble, so gentle, ”said Francisco in his homily.
And he added: “We feel in our hearts a lot of gratitudegratitude to God for having donated to the Church and to the worldand gratitude to him for all the good that he accomplished and, above all, for his testimony of faith and prayer, especially in these last years of retired life”.
Francis asserted that “only God knows the value and strength of his intercession, of his sacrifices offered for the good of the Church.”
The Argentine pontiff, seated in front of the main altar, officiated today in the Vatican temple the so-called first vespers of the Solemnity of Mary Most Holy Mother of Goda solemn act in which the “Te Deum” is sung in gratitude for the year that is ending.
In his homily, referring to the figure of Benedict XVI, Pope Francis, elected after his resignation in February 2013, defended the kindness “as a civic virtue” in the actual world.
This characteristic, he argued, “is an important factor in the culture of dialogue” and “essential to live in peace as brothers who do not always agree, it is normal, but who speak to each other.”
Francisco said that kindness is “an antidote” against “some pathologies of our societyagainst the cruelty that unfortunately can insinuate itself as a poison in the heart and intoxicate our relationships.
“These ‘diseases’ of our daily lives make us aggressive and incapable of asking for permission, or forgiveness, or simply saying thank you,” he lamented.
Francisco also warned of the damage to the “consumerist individualism that is visible to all”“The individualistic and consumerist society tends to be aggressive because the others are competitors with which to compete,” he denounced.
For this reason, he advocated “recovering kindness as a personal and civil virtue” since, in his opinion, it can help “not a little to improve the lives of families, communities and cities.”
After the celebration of these vespers, it is expected that Francisco, with mobility problems due to his knee, will leave the basilica to visit the traditional Portal of Bethlehem of the square.
The funeral chapel of Benedict XVI will open on Monday morning and will last until Wednesday, while it will be Thursday when Francis presides over his funeral in Saint Peter’s Square.
They will be solemn but sober obsequies, by the express will of the pope emeritus, whose body will rest in the crypt of the Vatican basilica.
(With information from EFE)
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