Benedict XVI among the top ten oldest Popes since 1400

From CNS:

Benedict XVI among the top ten oldest Popes since 1400

Rome, Italy, Jul 22, 2010 / 05:27 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Benedict XVI is now the seventh oldest Pope since reliable records began being collected in the year 1400, according to a U.S. statistician. In the words of Pope Benedict himself, however, age is not as important as wisdom.

[…]

According to his information, at the age of 83, Benedict XVI is currently seventh on the list of most aged Popes, but should he remain at the helm of the See of Peter until 2015, he will overtake Clement XII, currently in second place after living to 87. Topping the list of oldest Popes in the last six centuries is Leo XIII, who died at 93 years old in 1903.

An earlier entry on the same site reports that, since 1400, Joseph Ratzinger was the fifth oldest Pope on his election date and more advanced in age at that time than any other Pontiff in the 274 years prior. He had only just turned 78 years old three days before his election.

[…]

Reflecting on a passage from the Book of Wisdom, Benedict XVI said, "True, honorable old age is not just an advanced age, but wisdom and a pure existence, without malice … The world reputes that he who lives a long life is fortunate, but God, more than at age, looks at the rectitude of the heart. The world gives credit to the ‘wise’ and to the ‘learned,’ while God prefers the ‘little ones’.

"God," asserted the Pope at the time, "is the true wisdom that does not age, he is the genuine richness that does not spoil, he is the happiness to which the heart of every man aspires profoundly."

 

Benedict XVI is the Pope of Christian Unity.

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11 Comments

  1. Arieh says:

    May our Holy Father live to be the oldest pontiff in history!!

  2. Luke says:

    “Benedict XVI is the Pope of Christian Unity.”

    Father, your message is spreading! I heard Fr. George Rutler explicitly use
    that title on the World Over Live to discribe the Holy Father.

    In fact, he seemed to echo all of your talking points. I wonder if he is a
    frequent reader? ;-)

  3. May the Lord bless and keep him, and may his reign be long. It’s not fair on him that we need him to keep working so hard; but we do, and he does.

    I love this pope so much.

  4. Jon says:

    I was glad to hear Father Rutler the other night on Raymond Arroyo say the same thing. Even so, I wish he were the Pope of the Restoration, pure and simple.

    Then again, maybe being the Pope of the Restoration “subsists in” being the Pope of Christian Unity?…

  5. Supertradmum says:

    many, many more happy years to our Dear Pope…

  6. JohnE says:

    Dear God, may it please you to have him stay with us a good while longer!

  7. HighMass says:

    Dear God,

    Please hear our Prayers, JohnE, said what alot of us are praying for. We do not know Your will, but This HOLY FATHER is so HOLY and SPECIAL!

    Viva il Papa!

  8. MargaretC says:

    Ad multos annos!

  9. UncleBlobb@hotmail.com says:

    Arieh and MargaretC: Amen!

  10. pfreddys says:

    His old age is a gift to us! Let us pray that God lets this be the gift that keeps giving!!!

  11. irishgirl says:

    Ad multos annos to Benedict XVI, the Pope of Christian Unity!

    Must be the Mediterranean diet that keeps him going so well….

    pfreddys-Amen to your last sentence!

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