Father Andre-Joseph LaCasse, OP was celebrating a Mass at Columbus St. Patrick Church on April 19, 2005, when the parish’s pastor whispered to his fellow Dominican priest that a new pope had been chosen.
Eighteen years later, Father LaCasse, now the pastor at Somerset Holy Trinity and St. Joseph churches in Perry County, remembers that day well.
“I was in the middle of saying the daily midday Mass, and the pastor, Father Ambrose Eckinger, poked his head out of the side sacristy door and said to me ‘Ratzinger’ had been elected pope,” Father LaCasse recalled.
Countless other Catholics throughout the world have shared remembrances the past two weeks of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who passed into eternal life at age 95 on Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022, and was buried on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023, after a funeral at the Vatican befitting a holy, humble and faithful man.
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who had served as the prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under Pope St. John Paul II from 1981 until 2005, was announced as the new pope two weeks after John Paul’s death following a conclave during which the top vote-getters among the College of Cardinals were Ratzinger and Jorge Mario Bergoglio.
Pope Benedict remained in the Chair of Peter until February 2013 when he announced that he was resigning because he lacked the physical stamina to continue as leader of the Catholic Church. Bergoglio was elevated to be Benedict’s successor, taking the name Pope Francis, and he was the principal celebrant at the late pontiff’s funeral Mass last week.
“I was quite surprised that Cardinal Ratzinger was elected since I thought there is no way the cardinals would be so brave,” Father LaCasse said in reflecting on Benedict’s elevation to the papacy. “Well, they were.
“Father Ambrose then went on to ring the bells, which could be heard over the rest of the Mass. It was indeed a great day.”
At the time, Benedict’s election was considered a bold move because of his traditional views on faith, doctrine and morals. In a homily preceding the conclave that would end with then-Cardinal Ratzinger being selected as pope, he decried the dictatorship of relativism that limits the human capacity to seek moral truths.
Progressives didn’t like the fact that Benedict adhered to the Church’s teaching on marriage between one man and one woman, abortion and artificial contraception, a celibate male priesthood and reverent liturgy, among other things.
Sadly, Benedict was falsely characterized by the media as dogmatic and doctrinaire. In reality, his personality proved to be just the opposite. He was somewhat shy, fatherly and gentle. And he absolutely was a spiritual giant who left a legacy of theological writings and insights.
After his death, there were calls for immediate sainthood and speculation that he might one day be designated a doctor of the Church – an individual considered to have made significant contributions to theology or doctrine.
Pope Benedict XVI was one of those rare individuals created by God who was blessed with astounding intellect and insight but maintained almost childlike humility and otherworldly faith.
He had planned to return to his native Germany after John Paul II’s death and spend his final years writing and praying. God had other ideas for him, and it’s through this lens that one of Benedict’s famous quotes summarizes our mission in the Christian life: “The world offers you comfort. But you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.”
Pope Benedict XVI knew the truths of the Catholic faith as well as anyone – Pope John Paul II put him in charge of overseeing the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 1992 – and defended them no matter the cost to his personal reputation.
That’s really the legacy he leaves and the example that we, as Catholics, should strive to follow.
We must be ready to lay down our lives for the Lord and our faith. We must know and defend the truths of our Catholic faith at all costs without fear that our careers or reputations might be damaged – even if it means offending family members or co-workers.
Benedict undoubtedly heard his detractors criticize his rejection of married priests and women’s ordination, his staunch defense of the unborn and traditional marriage, and his denunciation of artificial contraception and relations outside marriage. He was maligned for some of the things he said and did, including handling of clergy sex abuse cases. All of that ultimately drained his energy, but media portrayals are not always based on reality.
One of his significant achievements was to allow the Traditional Latin Mass to be more widely celebrated. That decision also drew criticism and last year was all but rescinded by his successor in a move that reportedly saddened Benedict, said his longtime personal secretary, Archbishop Georg Ganswein, after the former pope’s death.
But our hope now is that this holy man after his departure from this life will intercede for a world and a Church desperately in need of a moral beacon. We turn to Benedict and pray for his protection, particularly for a Catholic Church being pressured politically to conform to crazy secular ideology and increasingly vulnerable to misguided leadership.
If ever there were a synopsis of Benedict’s humility and faith, it could be found in the following words that he composed as he neared death:
“Quite soon, I shall find myself before the final judge of my life,” Benedict wrote. “Even though, as I look back on my long life, I can have great reason for fear and trembling, I am nonetheless of good cheer, for I trust firmly that the Lord is not only the just judge, but also the friend and brother who himself has already suffered for my shortcomings, and is thus also my advocate, my ‘Paraclete.’
“In light of the hour of judgment, the grace of being a Christian becomes all the more clear to me. It grants me knowledge, and indeed friendship, with the judge of my life, and thus allows me to pass confidently through the dark door of death.”
