Status: 01/01/2023 11:36 a.m
Under the impression of the death of Benedict XVI. Pope Francis started the new year with a mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. He prayed for the deceased and called for solidarity with those affected by the Ukraine war.
At the New Year’s Day Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis asked Our Lady for help for the late Benedict XVI. asked:
Let us commend to her the emeritus Pope Benedict in a special way, so that she may accompany him on his way to God.
Benedict XVI died on Saturday morning at the age of 95 in the Vatican’s Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, where he had lived in the years following his resignation in 2013. From Monday his body will be laid out in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Pray for the victims of the war
In his homily on the occasion of the World Day for Peace, Francis went into particular detail about those who have suffered from wars.
Let us ask the Mother of God in a special way for the children who suffer and no longer have the strength to pray, for the many brothers and sisters affected by war in large parts of the world.
People would have spent the holidays in darkness and fear amidst violence and indifference.
As a good resolution for the New Year, Francis recommended not to look at world events lazily and indifferently, but to do good and “get your hands dirty”. One cannot sit still and comfortably wait for things to get better.
At noon, Pope Francis will give the Urbi et Orbi blessing.