Two years ago… Sede Vacante

Two years ago today, Pope Benedict XVI abdicated.

My posts from that sad, remarkable day, HERE.

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22 Comments

  1. Kristyn says:

    I cried that day after being convinced it wasn’t a hoax. I became Catholic after his election, discerning during his first three years and converting in 2009. He will always be my Papa.

  2. HighMass says:

    I agree Pope Benedict will always be my Papa Also!

    I can’t be put into words the emptiness one feels in there heart and how much we miss His Holiness…..Grando Papa, like S. John Paul II!

    We are all so thankful for your brief Pontificate and Pray God Grants you good health and many more years!

    Viva Santita!

  3. Derek Brown says:

    Boy, do I miss Papa Benedict. I sometimes fall into wondering if he made a mistake by abdicating, but that doesn’t usually last long. I trust him and I don’t believe he would have done it based solely on his own will. The waters are rough right now, but he is still with us. The work he did as Pope, was visible to us(although I suspect the larger impact of his Papacy will develop with time). The work he does now, may not be explicitly visible, but I would imagine to be efficacious in sustaining the Church and the faithful.

    One thing that gives me consolation in his decision is to see the few glimpses that we get of him these days. He looks much stronger and healthier than he did at the time of his abdication.

  4. Supertradmum says:

    Funny, but I took his laying of the pallium on the tomb of Celestine seriously, knowing that Benedict is a man of reason as well as grace and reflection. Honestly, I was not, therefore surprised. However, saddened, but trusting that God had led this very good and holy man to do this, I accepted his decision as necessary in the Will of God. We do not understand the whole meaning of this event of resignation, yet.

    The story is not over yet…

  5. HighMass says:

    Supertradmum

    You are correct! The story is not over yet…!!!

  6. Geoffrey says:

    I found some comfort in these words of Fr. Mark Drew from “The Catholic Herald”:

    “It cannot be easy for Benedict to witness everything that is happening in Rome today… It must cause him some chagrin to see some of his orientations for the Church neglected or even reversed, and some of his most trusted lieutenants marginalised while former adversaries are promoted… But he remains serene because he has an unshakeable faith in the Church and in God, who guides her with a steady hand while human leaders come and go. In this respect, as in so many others, we should heed him and seek to imitate him…”

    Full article: http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/issues/february-27th-2015/the-pope-emeritus-experiment-is-working/

  7. asperges says:

    To your third question of two years ago, “Will (his successor) be a Leo?” May we say the jury’s still out. Although the word, differently spelled, has haunted us all ever since.

  8. JBS says:

    I think it should be said that this blog helped very many souls cope with the resignation, and with the transition that is ongoing. Indeed, were it not for this blog, there would have been a near total absence of the kind of level-headed and readily available pastoral care needed to cope with the present uncertainties.

  9. Joseph-Mary says:

    He fled from the wolves but now the wolves are at the hen house.

  10. HeatherPA says:

    I miss his papacy very much.
    I pray for him as much as I do Pope Francis.

    I feel very strongly that he is serenely on standby. I don’t know why I feel that way. There is no reason for my feeling like that at all.

    Also, thank you so much Father Z. If not for this blog, I would have been and would be confused and lost a lot.

  11. HighMass says:

    Oremus: Pater, da nobis serenitas Sicut Benedictus Papa aliam spem quam in sede Petri Cathedram aliquando,. “Deus in cælo, et in terra papa.” Per eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum, Amen

    Let us pray, Heavenly Father, Grant us serenity and the hope that another Pope Like Pope Benedict will someday sit in the Chair of St. Peter,. “God in Heaven, the Pope on Earth.” Through Christ our Lord, Amen

  12. Fr. Vincent Fitzpatrick says:

    A sad, black, tragic day, that only seems more sad, black, and tragic with each day since.

  13. Mariana2 says:

    Very sad, but he no doubt knows what he’s doing.

  14. asperges says:

    HighMass, Purely as a Latin exercise, may I suggest:

    “Da nobis quaesumus, Domine, ut et serenitatem antiquorum dierum regno Benedicto cognoscere prosperemus; et futuro in sede Petri installato, ‘Deum in caelo, Papamque in Terra’ rursus proclamare possemus, per Christum…”

    I don’t think it is quite terse enough to be authentically Roman, though, and it still sounds a bit sede vacante-ish, which, i am sure was not intended. Translating from a modern language into Latin, rather than from it, will rarely sound convincing though, alas.

  15. Sandy says:

    I will never forget that day. That morning my husband listened to the radio as we got ready for the day and told me the news. I said that Popes don’t do that! It seemed like a hoax. I’ll always miss Papa Benedict, but we must have faith that God has a reason for everything and it will be made clear in His time.

  16. WideMeadow says:

    At least some things he doesn’t have to directly experience now:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR6kEM__f88

  17. JesusFreak84 says:

    I felt like a long Lent started, even in my personal life, the day he announced his resignation. I’m still waiting for Easter, on both fronts =-(

  18. SKAY says:

    It was such a sad and depressing day. It is so helpful to read all the comments made and I agree
    JBS, your comment is so true.
    Thank you Father Z.

  19. HighMass says:

    asperges

    I used Google Translate….No I did not mean that the Chair of Peter is Currently sede vacante-ish…my prayer was that some day we have another Pope Like Pope Benedict…..

    As we all miss him so……… :(

  20. Eugene says:

    Two posts that express my feelings EXACTLY:
    A sad, black, tragic day, that only seems more sad, black, and tragic with each day since.
    I felt like a long Lent started, even in my personal life, the day he announced his resignation. I’m still waiting for Easter, on both fronts

  21. JuliB says:

    Kristyn – you and me both. I con/re-verted to the Church in 2007. He is my Pope (like the Venerable Fulton Sheen is “my” archbishop since the Holy Spirit used the two of them to bring me home to God and Church) and I was crushed when he resigned.

    I pray for his health and welfare, along with his intentions at every Rosary I pray. Along with the current Pope’s as well.

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