KARACHI: The Catholic Church in Pakistan is mourning the passing of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who passed away at age 95 at 9:45am Vatican time in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican on Saturday.

In a message from the Catholic Archdiocese of Karachi, the Archbishop of Karachi Bishop Benny Travas said that Pope Benedict the XVI remained the Roman Pontiff for almost eight years and led the Catholic Church in very difficult times.

“However, he will be remembered for the decision he took on Feb 11, 2013, when he unexpectedly announced his resignation, an act that shocked the world for there had not been a voluntary resignation of a Pope for a long time.”

“Pope Benedict was a great theologian and a defender of Catholic doctrine. Yet at the same time he was humble, strong in his faith and conservative in his thinking.”

“In the coming days we will hear a lot said about his life but everyone will agree he was a good and faithful servant of Jesus.”

“We, the Catholic community of Karachi, mourn this great loss and offer our deepest condolences to His Holiness Pope Francis and all the clergy, religious lay faithful in this hour of grief,” he concluded.

Father Mario Rodrigues, the Rector of St Patrick’s High School, also said that his passing brings great sorrow to the whole Catholic community. Father Mario had the good fortune of meeting Pope Benedict several times, first when he was a Cardinal and four to five times as Pope.

“He was a very strict and proud person because as Cardinal he was a prefect, too. Therefore, he was always very strict about matters regarding the faith. But if you came to know him, he was really a very loving, caring and genuine person,” he said.

“He took us out to eat one evening. He said he couldn’t take us to his apartment for dinner because his sister was very strict about his diet,” Father Mario laughed.

Published in Dawn, january 1st, 2023