Diocese of Lubbock remembers Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - The Diocese of Lubbock hosted a remembrance mass on Saturday at Christ the King Cathedral to remember the legacy Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI left behind.

The Bishop at the Diocese of Lubbock, Robert Coerver, says they’re doing this in conjunction with churches worldwide.

“Observing a time of mourning for nine days and in that time churches all over the world celebrate memorial masses and pray for the repose of the soul of the deceased pope,” Coerver said.

Coerver says people from Rome all the way to Lubbock have been mourning since Pope Benedict died on Dec. 31.

“As a visible leader he’s the vicar of Christ on Earth, we believe, the successor of Saint Peter, and as such his role has a universal importance and significance to all the world, especially to Catholics around the world,” Coerver said.

In his homily at the remembrance mass, Coerver said Benedict was an amazing theologian with a hard job.

“He had a thankless job as defender of orthodoxy, as head of the congregation for the doctrine of faith, which he faithfully fulfilled,” Coerver said.

Benedict was elected Pope in 2005.

“He was surprisingly gentle, loving, and like I said in my homily, his writings on love were really beautiful and profound,” Coerver said.

Benedict resigned in 2013. Coerver says this time is different since he resigned a decade ago, which Coerver explained isn’t a bad thing.

“I think it’s actually freed us not to worry so much about the future and the next Pope because we already have that Pope,” Coerver said. “I think it’s enabled us to concentrate more on the legacy of the now-deceased pope.”

Coerver says Benedict’s health has been declining for quite some time.

“I did have the privilege of meeting Benedict with a group of students from the North American College where I graduated from in Rome,” Coerver said. “We gathered back in 2010 for a reunion and I noticed he was pretty frail at that time.”

He says Benedict did his job faithfully and became a gentle shepherd to the whole church when necessary.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was 95.

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