Bishop Offers Mass of Remembrance for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

By Jennifer Miele

January 2, 2022 (Greensburg) — Bishop Larry J. Kulick held a Mass for the repose of the soul of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral, the Mother Church of the Diocese of Greensburg on Monday.

Bishop Kulick met Pope Emeritus Benedict, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, when he was prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He remembers a humble and faithful servant to the Church who served St. Pope John Paul II for many years before becoming Pope.

Many parishioners in attendance were teary-eyed, leaning forward in their pew, listening intently to the Bishop Kulick’s homily.

Bishop Kulick talked about the significance of red vestments worn by clergy Monday, along with clergy and the Pope Emeritus on the day of his funeral.

“Red because it’s the color of martyrdom. And red because the Holy Father is the successor of St. Peter. Red reminds him that as St. Peter gave himself for the Church, gave himself for Christ, and so must he in that office be giving of himself. In every time and every age not just popes, bishops, priests and deacons, but all of you too as laity know, martyrdom comes in many fashions, and we must remember this during the challenges we are called to embrace,” Bishop Kulick said.

One of the concelebrants Monday was Fr. Daniel Ulishney, Pastor of St. John the Baptist de La Salle Parish in Delmont and St. Mary Parish in Export.

He met Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI several times, including at an audience at the Vatican for the 150th anniversary of the Pontifical North American College in 2009. “He was gracious and humble and his writings were so profound. I think we will be reading his works for centuries,” Fr. Ulishney said.

Bishop Kulick said the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI calls us as a faith community into a time of remembrance and a time of prayer.

“I join with the faithful in the Diocese of Greensburg and Catholics throughout the world as we mourn the loss of our Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI,” Bishop Kulick said. “He dedicated his life to serving the Church in a variety of capacities. He was a consummate theologian and one of the great intellectual lights of the Post-Conciliar Church. He faced many modern-day challenges in his papacy and proved himself to be a gentle shepherd. May God grant him eternal rest and peace,” Bishop Kulick added.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was elected in 2005 after the death of St. Pope John Paul II. He was born in what is now Germany and was drafted into the Nazi military. According to his biography, he deserted and was held captive by American troops. He became a priest in Bavaria in 1951. He served as the 265th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church from 2005 to 2013. Although most popes since the 1400s have served until their death, he stepped down citing health issues.