ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Mourners filled St. Catharine of Siena Cathedral on Thursday as Catholics in the Lehigh Valley gathered for a memorial Mass for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who died Saturday at age 95.
Many in attendance were pensive, taking to prayer prior to the service, with the Mass opening with a choral rendition of Mozart's Lacrimosa.
- Catholics from the Allentown Diocese gathered at St. Catharine of Siena Cathedral for a memorial Mass for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
- Bishop Alfred A. Schlert delivered a sermon highlighting Benedict's courage and reputation
- The Mass was attended by community members, clergy and students
In attendance were people from across the Allentown Diocese and nearby Catholic schools.
"It's nice to see all the diocesan entities together," said Julie Scheck of the Allentown Diocese Catholic Charities. "School kids and all of us, all the priests and deacons. We don't always have a chance to have everyone together at one time."
The service came on the same day as Benedict's requiem Mass in Vatican City led by Pope Francis.
The Allentown Mass followed a special vespers service held the day before.
"I think it was a beautiful experience for myself, and I hope for the students," said Danielle Frio, principal of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic School in Bethlehem Township.
"He held firm to the clarity of the teachings of the church."Bishop Alfred A. Schlert, Diocese of Allentown
For many of her students, she said, it was their first time in the diocese's cathedral.
"It's just an important way for us to represent our schools to remember the pope who was so important to us as a leader of our church and our faith," she said.
Unlike the passing of Benedict's predecessor, St. John Paul II, the successor has already been in place leading the Catholic Church in Pope Francis. That made the experience different for those who have mourned prior pontiffs.
"We do still have a pope in place who is leading our church, and I think that sense of loss is felt much more deeply when we're also then in need of someone to replace that position," Frio said. "So it does feel a little bit different to me than I did the last time."
During his homily, Bishop Alfred A. Schlert highlighted Benedict XVI's courage, his work as a theologian and expert for the Second Vatican Council and his reputation for conservatism.
'He stayed the course'
"Really what he did was align himself with the constant teaching of the church, and interpreted those teachings in that way," Schlert said. "He championed the authentic reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Some would have said that, that wasn't enough, that those reforms had to go further to the point where maybe they no longer became authentic reforms. So he stayed the course."
"He held firm to the clarity of the teachings of the church," Schlert said. "Because of that, he also had the courage to withstand the criticism that came with that."
Schlert also defended Benedict's record on the Catholic Church's clergy sex abuse crisis — a record that has been criticized.
"He took on many hard issues in the church during his eight years as a pope. Most importantly, the handling of the abuse crisis," Schlert said. "He did far more to eradicate that in the church that many pundits today would give him credit for."
Benedict shocked the world when in 2013 he announced he no longer had the strength to run the 1.2 billion-strong Catholic Church, gaining the title of pope emeritus. He was the first pope to step down in nearly 600 years.
The @AllentownDioces joins the Universal Church in praying for the repose of the soul of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. May his love for Christ and His Church bring him to Eternal Life. #PopeBenedictXVI #BenedettoXVI pic.twitter.com/bint6OuXgS
— Bishop Schlert (@BishopSchlert) December 31, 2022
Parishioners said they were grateful for the opportunity to pay respect to Benedict and his memory.
"It was very beautiful," said Sonia Ramirez, who also attended the vespers service Wednesday at St. Catharine of Siena. "What got me the most is when [the bishop] said that the pope was very brave — that he wasn't afraid, even when he resigned."
Schlert added: "He went against 600 years of practice exercising his right to resign, knowing that it in his mind and in his prayerful discernment was for the good of the church. Because he felt he did not have, as he said, the stamina to continue."
