Lord Jesus Christ, Good Shepherd,
we pray for Pope Benedict XVI
as he sets aside his responsibilities as Supreme Pastor.
We give thanks for his ministry in the Church.
Bless him with health, joy, and well-being.
We pray for the Church in these days of transition.
Be with the Cardinals
who will soon gather in conclave
to elect a new leader for the Church.
Guided by the Spirit,
and free from fear or favor,
may they choose a man after your own heart,
a humble, compassionate shepherd,
with wisdom to read the signs of the times
in the light of the Gospel.
We ask this in your name,
who live and reign for ever and ever.
Amen.
A place of prayer has been established in the Cathedral's
north aisle
near the shrine of Blessed Pope John XXIII
"After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I
have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no
longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry. I am well aware
that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out
not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. However,
in today's world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of
deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the barque of Saint
Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary,
strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that
I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry
entrusted to me. For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act,
with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome,
Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in
such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the
See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a Conclave to elect the new Supreme
Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.
"Dear Brothers, I thank you most sincerely for all the love
and work with which you have supported me in my ministry and I ask pardon for
all my defects. And now, let us entrust the Holy Church to the care of Our
Supreme Pastor, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and implore his holy Mother Mary, so that
she may assist the Cardinal Fathers with her maternal solicitude, in electing a
new Supreme Pontiff. With regard to myself, I wish to also devotedly serve the
Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer."
Archbishop Sartain offered a Mass of Thanksgiving on
February 28, 2013,
the last day of Benedict XVI's Pontificate. His homily is below.
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