AEC on the passing of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

Statement issued December 31, 2022 that was to be read at churches and chapels at the New Year’s Vigil & New Year’s Day Masses throughout the Dioceses of the Antilles Episcopal Conference

It is with great sadness that we learn of the passing of Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI on Saturday morning, December 31, 2022, at the Vatican’s Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, at the age of 95.
Pope Benedict dedicated his entire life to the Church and was known as one of the greatest theologians of modern times. His many and profound writings have influenced the universal Church in tremendous ways. He served as Pope for nine years from 2005 until he resigned the office in 2013, the first Pontiff to do so in six hundred (600) years. He was known as a great defender of the Catholic faith. His funeral will be held in St Peter’s Square on Thursday, January 5, 2023.
On behalf of all the clergy, religious and faithful of the Archdiocese of Castries, I offer sincere condolences to His Holiness Pope Francis, the Staff of the Holy See and the Apostolic Nuncio for the Antilles based in Trinidad, His Excellency, Archbishop Santiago De Wit Guzmàn.
Today, January 1, 2023, I request that all priests make mention of him in the Eucharistic Prayer where the dead are remembered. Additionally, offer a Mass for the repose of his soul on January 5, 2023, the day of his funeral. May his soul rest in God’s eternal peace!

Most Rev Gabriel Malzaire
Archbishop of Castries
President, Antilles Episcopal Conference