Bishop Jugis to offer special requiem Mass Jan. 5 in Charlotte
A Holy Hour was offered at St. Patrick Cathedral Jan. 1, 2023, for the repose of the soul of the late pope. (SueAnn Howell, Catholic News Herald)
CHARLOTTE — Bishop Peter Jugis is asking Catholics across western North Carolina this week to pray for the repose of the soul of the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
Bishop Jugis will offer a requiem Mass, or Mass for the Dead, on Thursday, Jan. 5 – the same day that Pope Francis will celebrate the deceased former pope’s funeral Mass in Rome.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died Dec. 31, 2022, aged 95.
Everyone is welcome to attend the special Mass in Charlotte with Bishop Jugis. It will be offered starting at 6:30 p.m. in the temporary chapel inside the cathedral’s Family Life Center, located at 1621 Dilworth Road East, because the cathedral remains closed for renovations.
In a Jan. 1 email to priests of the diocese, Bishop Jugis requested that parishes and schools offer their own Masses and prayers for the deceased former pope.
Communities and individuals may also pray the Office of the Dead in the Liturgy of the Hours for the intention of the Holy Father.
The diocese’s Office of Divine Worship also suggested special petitions in the Prayers of the Faithful at upcoming Masses, such as:
- That Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, called from this life, may enjoy forever the banquet table of heaven, we pray to the Lord. R/ Lord, hear our prayer.
- That Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who served the Church as Supreme Pontiff for eight years, may worship God for ever in the liturgy of heaven, we pray to the Lord. R/ Lord, hear our prayer.
- That the tireless efforts of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, may bear fruit in unity, peace and love among all men and women, we pray to the Lord. R/ Lord, hear our prayer.
- For Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who preached that God is love and that we are saved in hope, may know God’s love forever in heaven, we pray to the Lord. R/ Lord, hear our prayer.
The bishop's request comes in the wake of other signs of public mourning for the deceased former pope.
On Saturday, black bunting was draped on the entrance of St. Patrick Cathedral after news broke that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI had died earlier that day.
On Sunday, before one of its regularly scheduled Sunday Masses, the cathedral hosted a special Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration for the repose of his soul. A portrait of Pope Benedict XVI, draped with black bunting, and a vase of white lilies were placed near the altar.
Bishop Jugis joined Church and world leaders in expressing gratitude for the former pope’s decades of service to the Church.
“As we mourn the passing of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, we pray for the happy repose of his soul, and we invite all people of good will to join us in commending him to the Lord,” he said.
“As a good and faithful servant of the Lord, he faithfully carried out his office as successor of the Prince of the Apostles to strengthen his brothers and sisters in the faith, and lead the Church in faithfully following Jesus Christ.”
The bishop praised the late pope’s writings, especially his three-volume work “Jesus of Nazareth,” calling it “recommended reading for all those seeking to deepen their personal relationship with the Savior.”
Bishop Jugis, who met Pope Benedict XVI in 2012 during the U.S. bishops’ “ad limina” visitation to Rome, recalled the pope as being humble and kind.
“The Holy Father was very engaging and very interested in all we had to say,” the bishop told the Catholic News Herald at the time, upon returning from Rome. “It was a very relaxed meeting,” he said, more like a conversation than a formal meeting.
The pope gave each bishop a pectoral cross and a rosary as a memento of their visit with him.
“May Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI rest in peace and receive the reward promised to the Lord’s faithful servants,” the bishop said Saturday.
— Catholic News Herald
Bishop Peter Jugis met Pope Benedict XVI in 2012 during an "ad limina" visit to Rome. (File, Catholic News Herald)
Black bunting adorns the entrance to St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte Dec. 31, 2022, after the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. (Photo provided)
Monsignor Winslow reflects on Pope Benedict’s legacy, seeing his election in 2005
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Monsignor Winslow reflects on Pope Benedict’s legacy, seeing his election in 2005
CHARLOTTE — On Saturday Monsignor Patrick Winslow, vicar general and chancellor of the diocese, also reflected on the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
“This is a bittersweet moment for us. Pope Benedict has given his life in service of the Church and of God, and humbly stepped aside as he became frail, to allow others to lead – it really is a graceful departure from this phase of his journey toward God,” he said during interviews with local media. “The Catholic Church is really a family, and we feel this as if it is the death of a grandfather.”
“He had a huge impact on the Church,” he added. “He was an academic, and that sharp intellect – that mind, with his crystal clarity – really did a lot to shape our thinking, our doctrine and what we believe.”
Read his reflection below:
"On April 19, 2005, I landed in Rome with Father Timothy Reid, my parents, and two busloads of pilgrims who were mostly from the Diocese of Charlotte. Arrangements for our pilgrimage to Rome had been made a year earlier, so we could never have imagined our arrival would come in the wake of Pope John Paul II’s funeral and the first full day of the conclave to elect his successor.
Even though one never gets a reasonable night's sleep on a transatlantic flight, our tour began the moment we retrieved our luggage. Thankfully, exhaustion gave way to excitement and the effects of Italian coffee. We went right away to visit one of Rome’s major basilicas and enjoy some Italian food, before heading to our hotel to check in. The hotel was located only a mile or two from the Vatican – an ideal location for the history-making event we were about to witness.
Father Reid and I knew the group of cardinals meeting for their conclave in the Sistine Chapel could elect a new pope at any time, so we wanted to be ready. We told our tour guides that no matter where we were when white smoke began rising from the Chapel – the public sign that a pope has been elected – we wanted to drop everything, load our pilgrims on buses, and head over to St. Peter’s Square in hopes of getting a glimpse of our new pope.
Moments later, some children from our group in the hotel lobby pointed to the television and announced, “There’s white smoke!” We had to look carefully at the images flashing across the TV, as it sometimes can be difficult to tell whether the smoke is black (no pope elected yet) or white (a new pope has been elected). Father Reid and I thought the smoke looked white, so we ran to collect the members of our group. Our guides marshalled everyone onto buses while Father Reid, my parents and I hailed a taxi for St. Peter’s Square to find a prime viewing spot for our group. Hopping in the cab, we exclaimed in broken Italian, “We need to get to St. Peter’s Square immediately. We have a pope!” Our driver turned the radio dial from a soccer game to the news, then floored it.
What we saw next was extraordinary – almost terrifying. People poured out of Rome’s narrow streets, filling the expansive square in front of St. Peter’s Basilica like dozens of tributaries flooding a mountain reservoir. Our group made its way through the sea of people to the fountain along the southern arm of Bernini’s colonnade that extends from the basilica and surrounds St. Peter’s Square. From that vantage point, we could see the Loggia, the balcony from which the papal coat of arms of Pope John Paul II hung and where our new pope would soon emerge.
The official arrival of the cardinal deacon onto the balcony was met with uproarious energy from the rapidly assembled crowd, which at this point filled the main street of the Via della Conciliazione toward the River Tiber. Rome’s cacophony of church bells, which began ringing as the white smoke appeared and continued tolling for 45 minutes, went silent. From the balcony, the cardinal deacon declared: “Habemus papam.” (“We have a pope.”) Then we heard him say the name Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the new pope who would now be called “Pope Benedict XVI.” The crowd erupted in cheers.
That first glimpse of Pope Benedict was almost overwhelming, seeing him in white and red, walk out on that balcony, waving with both hands, and knowing he would now lead our worldwide Church, whatever might come. He offered his first blessing “Urbi et Orbi” – for the city and the world.
Pilgrim and parishioner Debbie Kovacich of Sparta recalled in a note to me on Saturday: “It was a singularly wonderful moment for us standing shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of people when the Holy Father stepped out onto the balcony…Later, when discussing other candidates for the papacy, I said something like, ‘Some people just wanted a rock star.’ You said, ‘They got one.’”
Ratzinger was perhaps the most well-known of all the cardinals in the Church at the time. He served closely alongside Pope John Paul II as the prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a position which he used to explain the faith clearly and eloquently – most notably in compiling the Catechism of the Catholic Church we use today. He was also a prolific writer and theologian who participated in the pivotal work of the Second Vatican Council, and through his leadership he formed many aspects of the Church and Her People, even if some passive observers throughout the world were unaware.
At that moment as a priest, a student of theology and as a pilgrim soul, I was grateful for the shepherd who had been given to us. Steadfast, gentle and thoughtful, our new Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, would go on to demonstrate his love for God in everything he said and did."
