Pope Francis prays for Benedict XVI Wikileaks founder Julian Assange wants to attend Vivienne Westwood’s funeral

The day after Benedict XVI’s death, Pope Francis called for prayer for the Pope Emeritus. “Today we entrust the beloved Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. the Mother of God to accompany him on his way from this world to God,” the head of the Catholic Church said during New Year’s Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday.

Bishop Bertram Meier of Augsburg, among others, celebrated from Germany. 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 since his 2013 abdication.

In Saturday night’s New Year’s Eve service, Francis paid tribute to Benedict’s ministry of faith and prayer. Joseph Ratzinger – Benedict’s real name – will be deposited in St. Peter’s Basilica from Monday. A funeral service and burial are scheduled for Thursday.

In his homily on Sunday, on the occasion of the World Day of Peace, Francis paid special attention to the victims of war. “Let us ask the Mother of God in a special way for the children who suffer and who no longer have the strength to pray, for the many brothers and sisters who have been affected by war in large parts of the world,” said the 86-year-old. year-old – old Argentinian. People would have spent the holidays in darkness and fear amid violence and indifference.

As a New Year’s resolution, Francis recommended not to look lazily and indifferently at world events, but to do good and “get your hands dirty”. One cannot sit still and comfortably wait for things to get better. (sda/dpa)