On this day in 2005 Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope and took the name Benedict XVI.
Before his election he had been the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and was on the drafting committee that produced The Catechism of the Catholic Church.
In 2013 he shocked the world when he announced that due to age and ill health he was stepping down as pope. He was the first to do so in over 600 years.
Lord,
we have two living popes,
Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict, at a time when there is much division in the church.
Some seem to be trying to use this situation to undermine the leadership of Pope Francis.
We pray for the unity of the church and for the divisions troubling the church to be healed.
Amen
By Fr Pat O'Shea - Lower Hutt
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