Father Joe Roesch, MIC, greets Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican in 2007.
'Benedict. may your joy be complete!" The Funeral Homily of Pope Francis
By the Very Rev. Joe Roesch, MIC, vicar general of the Marian Congregation
I arrived in Rome to begin my work as a General Councilor in May of 2005, just after Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had been elected Pope, taking the name Benedict XVI. He had already been working in Rome for 24 years as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. I found it interesting we were both beginning new roles at the same time.
Around 10 years before he became Pope, Cardinal Ratzinger was the main celebrant at a Mass on October 13 at the Shrine in Fatima, Portugal. I was leading a Marian Helpers’ pilgrimage at that time, and I had a chance to concelebrate with the Cardinal along with many other priests. My parents and Maureen Digan were on that pilgrimage. Maureen had received a miracle through the intercession of St. Faustina which led to her beatification.
My mother and Maureen had the opportunity to meet the Cardinal. When my mother told the Cardinal who Maureen was, he gently caressed her cheek and said, “Ah, the American!”
Learning how to be Pope
The summer after his election, Pope Benedict had the opportunity to return to Germany for the 2005 World Youth Day Celebrations. They took place in Cologne where he had taught in the past. Normally, the Youth Day Celebrations had been taking place every two years. However, in anticipation of the World Youth Day in Germany, St. John Paul II had said that he thought the Church would need three years to prepare for them. He died several months before them, and Pope Benedict took his place.
Maybe God had let St. John Paul know why three years would be needed!
I had the privilege to attend that World Youth Day and to concelebrate with Pope Benedict and around 10,000 priests who were in attendance. It was wonderful to see Pope Benedict in his native land, smiling and shyly waving to the young people and learning how to be Pope!
The late Cardinal Joachim Meisner, who was the Archbishop of Cologne at the time of the World Youth Day, once said that Pope Benedict had the intelligence of 12 theologians and the piety of a First Communicant. The Pope Emeritus came from Bavaria, which is a very devout Catholic part of Germany.
Cardinal Joachim Meisner, the Archbishop of Cologne at the time of World Youth Day, said that Pope Benedict had the intelligence of 12 theologians and the piety of a First Communicant.
Gifted teacher
Early in his pontificate, the Vatican invited those living in and around Rome who were making their First Communion to come, along with their parents, for an audience with Pope Benedict. Ten-thousand people came! The Holy Father did a question-and-answer session with the children and taught them how we can know God is present even if we can’t see Him. He used the analogy of household appliances that work even though we can’t see the electricity. He also gently taught the children how to encourage their parents to take them to Church when they didn’t always do so.
Pope Benedict had a wonderful gift for teaching. Everything I ever read of his or any homily or talk I ever heard from him was clear and concise. He could teach on a university level or he could reach little children with the teachings of the Church, a rare gift.
I recently heard a beautiful testimony. Someone said that when you read something written by Pope Benedict, you have the strong impression in your heart, “This is the truth!”
During his pontificate, I had a chance to briefly meet Pope Benedict a couple of times in Rome. He was always gracious and gentle. I once met him at a concert at the Vatican with two of our Marians from our Polish Province. I mentioned that one of them was working as a missionary in Mindanao in the Philippines. Pope Benedict repeated, “Mindinao!” since he was familiar with some of the challenges the Church has faced there.
I received my licentiate in Sacred Theology from the John Paul II institute for Studies in Marriage and Family. My thesis dealt with ecclesiology and Mariology – how Mary’s openness to God’s plan is a wonderful model for the Church. Among the theologians that I wrote about, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was included. He had a great devotion to Our Lady and was involved in the insertion of the chapter on Our Lady in the document on the Church during the Second Vatican Council. While he still had his health, Pope Benedict would pray the Rosary daily in the Vatican Gardens and on the roof of the Apostolic Palace.
Good example
I stood on line for two hours this week to pay my respects to Pope Benedict as he was laid out in front of the altar in St. Peter’s Basilica after his death. More than 135,000 people have lined up on the first two days this week, which is a testimony to the good example that he gave us during his lifetime. He would be the first to say that he was not a perfect man, but he trusted in the mercy of God and had confidence in the gift of salvation.
After his resignation in 2013, he lived a quiet, monastic type life, hidden away at the Vatican. He prayed and offered his sufferings for the Church. I pray that he accomplished his Purgatory on earth and that he can now be with our Lord forever. I was touched to read that his last words before he died were, “Jesus, I love you.”
I and many other Marian Fathers here in Rome will concelebrate his funeral this week along with numerous other priests and bishops. He will be laid to rest in the Vatican Crypt in the same place were St. John Paul II had been laid after his death. He was very close to his predecessor and he requested that spot.
Divine Mercy
We Marians are very grateful to Pope Benedict for giving the final approval for the beatification of our Founder, St. Stanislaus Papczynski, in 2007. We are also thankful for all that Pope Benedict did to promote the message of the Divine Mercy during his pontificate, following in the footsteps of St. John Paul II.
In his first message as Pope in 2005, Pope Benedict spoke of his feeling of inadequacy and his human apprehension along with his gratitude to the Lord for His closeness and his help. He also felt the help of his predecessor as he explained:
Dear friends, this deep gratitude for a gift of Divine Mercy is uppermost in my heart in spite of all. And I consider it a special grace which my Venerable Predecessor, John Paul II, has obtained for me. I seem to feel his strong hand clasping mine; I seem to see his smiling eyes and hear his words, at this moment addressed specifically to me, ‘Do not be afraid!’
Let’s take the advice of those two Mercy Popes! As Pope Benedict said at the end of the first World Congress on Divine Mercy held in Rome in 2008:
“Go forth and be witnesses of God’s mercy, a source of hope for every person and for the whole world. May the Risen Lord be with you always!”
May Pope Emeritus Benedict rest in peace!
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