R.I.P., Pope Benedict XVI (1927-2022)

This morning, on the feast of the Holy Pope St. Sylvester I, on the last day of the year 2022, our beloved Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI passed from this world to be judged by his Creator, our Lord, Jesus Christ, at 95 years of age. The Brothers and Chorus Breviarii will pray for his repose, and we certainly hope that we will all be praying, whether through the Holy Rosary, the Office of the Dead, or the Holy Mass, that any purgation his soul may face may be lightened. 

Courtesy: LMS England & Wales

Our Fratellino says on this occasion: 

"Silvester, or Sylvester, is an interesting name, meaning "of the woodland" or, by implication, a Forester. Think of the Catholics of the Vendée, who were chased into the woods to celebrate the mass, and how many of them were brutally murdered by the Masonic French Revolution... about 800,000. Silvester I was the pope who led the church OUT of the woods, not into them. We should, at this point, be imploring his intercession for all we are worth, lest the present persecution worsen, and last as long as the first one."

Similarly, as the pagans of Europe were called to physically out of the woods by the Roman Pontiff and his missionaries, away from wooden idols and sacred trees, so do we pray that our future Roman Pontiffs may bring the Church out the woods we dwell in now, where many idols, whether wooden or ideological, have yet to be cast down.

The Feast according to the 1938 Laverty Missal

"Let Thy priests, O Lord, be clothed with justice, and let Thy Saints rejoice," reads the Introit for the Mass of St. Sylvester I before the liturgical changes in 1955. Through the praying of this Introit, we hope for the Saints above to rejoice at Christ welcoming a faithful servant into the heavenly kingdom. We also hope that through the prayers of these Saints, especially St. Sylvester I, we may continue to grow a new generation of holy priests who will bravely serve the Lord, many of whom were guided by the late Holy Father's liberation of tradition through Summorum Pontificum. 

Monastere Saint-Benoit, established
under the Papacy of Benedict XVI

To a great friend and guardian of Tradition, we pray that the soul of Pope Benedict XVI may rest in peace. Lux aeterna luceat ei, Domine, cum sanctis Tuis in aeternum, quia pius es.

Our other posts regarding the deceased Holy Father during his papacy can be found below:

• (2008) A Picture worth a Thousand Words
• (2009) Declaration of Petrine Unity