Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Catholic News

Home

Home
Catholic
Religion News
Two years into retirement, the legacy of Father Benedict endures

Two years into retirement, the legacy of Father Benedict endures

Last updated on: February 11, 2015 at 7:00 pm by CNA Daily News

Two years into retirement, the legacy of Father Benedict endures 2015-02-11T19:00:00+00:00 CNA Daily News

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Vatican City, Feb 11, 2015 / 12:00 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Two years to the day since Pope Benedict XVI told the world of his historic decision to step down from the papal office, those impacted by his pontificate say that his legacy is still burning bright.

“Pope Benedict's legacy is really very massive,” said Archbishop Arthur Roche, secretary for the congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

“His teaching, his balance, his ability to get to the bottom of so many things with such clarity” are among the marks that remain from Benedict’s pontificate, the archbishop told CNA.

While Feb. 11 is normally set aside as a holiday in the Vatican for the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the day took on huge added significance in 2013, when Benedict used the opportunity to announce his retirement at a relatively routine consistory – most of the prelates in the room had expected to hear little more than the dates for some upcoming canonizations.

Three weeks later, on Feb. 28, Benedict XVI would greet the crowds from the balcony of the papal palace at Castel Gandolfo for the last time as the reigning pontiff. Shortly thereafter, the resignation took effect, and the See of Peter was vacant until the election of Pope Francis on Mar. 13, 2013.

Since his retirement, Benedict’s days have been filled with prayer and study, largely out of the public view. He now goes by the simple title, “Fr. Benedict.” However, some see the legacy of the Pope Emeritus as continuing to resonate in complementarity to that of his successor, Pope Francis.

Archbishop Roche reflected on what he sees as the lasting impact of the former Pope.

He criticized negative portrayals of Benedict XVI as “somebody who was very severe,” saying that this media-fueled reputation was unfair and inaccurate.

Speaking from his personal experience, the archbishop said that in reality, Benedict “was the most easy person to speak to in the whole of the curia, because he was very interested in what you had to say. And, he was very interested about the problems which bishops were encountering.”

“I think that his magisterium is something that will remain and will be known as very great in years to come.”

Benedict XVI's legacy has also extended well beyond the curia, with many young Catholics attributing their conversions to his pontificate.

Following his 2010 visit to the UK, for instance, there has been a rise in Catholic youth-initiated movements – Youth 2000, Night Fever, Flame Congress – as well as a slow and steady increase in men and women pursuing vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

The impact of this visit on UK Catholics was demonstrated shortly after the papal resignation was announced through an online initiative entitled “Generation Benedict,” in which 40 young people were invited to share their testimonies of how the German pontiff had touched their lives.

The initiative came in response to “a lot of negative media surrounding his abdication,” said Collette Power, co-founder of the Generation Benedict, along with Lisette Carr, both young laywomen from Britain.

“Our lives had been profoundly changed by his papacy, and by the invitation he had extended to us to know the Lord and to become saints,” she said, “and we knew a lot of other young people that had the same experience. This wasn’t being told in the media.”

Power told CNA she had lapsed from her faith, but experienced a conversion during Benedict's visit to the UK, culminating in the Beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman in Cofton Park.

Although she had gone to Mass as a child, she said “no one had ever really explained the heart of the Gospel which Pope Benedict did when he visited England.”

“To know that God loves me, and that I’m called to have a personal relationship with Jesus, and that I’m called to holiness, nothing less, not the mediocrity of the world, that the Church challenges me and the Lord challenges me to be a saint.”

One year later, during the 2011 World Youth Day in Madrid, Power says she experienced the sense that she was being called by the Pope to share what she had received, “to go forward and to take the Gospel to all the places in kind of my life, all the people that I know, and to the ends of the earth in my area, to really go out and spread the good news.”

Two years after the papal resignation, Power reflected that “Pope Benedict really laid a foundation for what Pope Francis is doing now.”

“He encouraged us to know our faith, to know the culture that we live in, so that we can speak the Gospel effectively,” she said.

“Through Pope Francis now, we’re being sent, having been equipped by Pope Benedict, we’re being sent out to share the Gospel with everyone we meet and take it to the fringes of society.”

Vatican

Previous Post

February 11, 2015

Africa is for the young – and Pope Francis knows it

Next Post

February 11, 2015 Could a new charity department lead a reformed Roman Curia?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Americas Asia - Pacific Europe Middle East - Africa Uncategorized US Vatican

Select a Month November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Bethany" mean in Hebrew?

Select your answer to see how you score.

House of bread House of mercy House of affliction House of stone