Community Corner

Metuchen Diocese Says Farewell to the Pope

Pope Benedict XVI stepped down at the end of February, as local Catholics paid tribute to him.


On the day that Pope Benedict XVI officially stepped down as leader of the Catholic Church, approximately 600 clergy, religious and faithful from around the Diocese of Metuchen gathered for a Mass of Thanksgiving to celebrate the gift of his papacy.

The Most Rev. Paul G. Bootkoski, principal celebrant of the evening liturgy February 28 at St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral in Metuchen, greeted the worshippers who filled the cathedral.

In his opening remarks the bishop reaffirmed the Mass was offered both in thanksgiving for Pope Benedict's service as head of the Church, and also as a prayer of petition for the selection of a new pope.

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“We gather tonight because we are grateful for Pope Benedict’s eight years of leadership and for his goodness to all the faithful across the world,” Bootkoski said. “It is also our prayer that the Church will receive a new pope who will be pastoral and understanding, someone who will lead Catholics into the future, and who will be transparent and open to the people of God, of all denominations, so the presence of God will be felt throughout the world.”

Pope Benedict announced on February 11, suddenly and unexpectedly, that he would retire on February 28.

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The retirement was an historic and unprecedented move that has not occurred in the past 600 years. The 85-year-old pontiff admitted in a statement that to accomplish papal responsibilities “both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.”

Msgr. William Benwell, the diocesan vicar general who delivered the homily, told the congregation that he believed “history will record that nothing in Benedict’s papacy so reflected his character and integrity as his taking leave of it.”

Praising Benedict for his dedication and service to the Church over many decades, and particularly for his witness of the past weeks of his papacy, Benwell said, “Benedict put the Gospel first and himself second.”

The pontiff’s resignation was indeed “such a counter-cultural act,” Benwell said, that “people are still processing it.”

“This has been an historic day and more historic days lay ahead of us,” Benwell continued. “But more than a history lesson, today has, hopefully, reminded us of greater, more enduring truths—about selflessness and humility and the importance of prayer and preparing by the actions we take and the decisions we make for the day that will come to all of us…when we will stand before the Lord and answer not the question, ‘Who do you say that I am?’ (Mt 16:15), but ‘Whodid you say that I am?’”

Bishop Bootkoski and Msgr. Benwell both met Pope Benedict in December, 2011 during a visit to Rome in which the bishop delivered a report to the pope on the state of the Diocese of Metuchen.

Recalling that meeting, Bishop Bootkoski described the pontiff as “a shy but very intelligent and very prayerful man.” These characteristics, he said, came through “loud and clear.”

Just before his retirement in Rome, Pope Benedict held his final audience with his cardinals and then was transported via helicopter to Castel Gandolfo, a nearby Vatican retreat, where he will stay during the conclave. After a new pope is elected it is expected that Pope Benedict will permanently retire and live in relative seclusion at Mater Ecclesiae, a former monastery inside Vatican City.

The office of the pope, also known as the chair of St. Peter or the See of St. Peter, will be vacant until the College of Cardinals convenes in a papal conclave to elect a successor. the conclave is expected to start between March 9 and 11.


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