Pope Francis hosted a celebration for the 65th anniversary of the priestly ordination of his predecessor Benedict, the pope emeritus tonight. Joseph Ratzinger, who took the name Benedict XVI when he was elected to the papacy in 2005, attended the celebration in the Sala Clementina within the Apostolic Palace. More than thirty cardinals were also present, as well as a number of other invited guests.

The event began with music from the Sistine Choir and a speech by Pope Francis. In his remarks, the Holy Father noted a passage from a newly published book that collects some of Ratzinger's thoughts on the priesthood. Francis wrote the foreword for the book.

"In one of the many beautiful pages that you dedicate to the priesthood," he noted, "you underscore how, at the hour of Simon's definitive call, Jesus, looking at him, basically asks him only one thing: 'Do you love me?' How beautiful and true this is! Because it is here, you tell us, it is in that 'do you love me,' that the Lord founded the feeding, because only if there is love for the Lord can He feed through us."

"This is the note that dominates a whole life spent in priestly service and true theology that you have not accidentally described as 'the search for the Beloved'; it is this that you have always witnessed and still witness today: that the decisive thing in our day - of sun or rain - that alone with which all the rest comes, is that the Lord be truly present, that we desire Him, that we be close to Him interiorly, that we love Him, that we truly believe profoundly in Him and believing that we truly love Him," Francis added.

Pope Francis said that the pope emeritus continues to serve the Church, "not ceasing to truly contribute to her growth with strength and wisdom," doing this from the little Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican. He spoke, too, about the "Franciscan" dimension of the monastery, which recalls the Portiuncula, where St Francis founded his order. Divine Providence, has willed that you, dear Brother, should reach a place one could truly call 'Franciscan', from which emanates a tranquillity, a peace, a strength, a confidence, a maturity, a faith, a dedication, and a fidelity that does so much good for me, and gives strength to me and to the whole Church."

At the conclusion of his remarks, Pope Francis offered best wishes to Pope emeritus Benedict on behalf of himself and of the whole Church, with the prayer for Benedict, "That you, Holiness, might continue to feel the hand of the merciful God who supports you; that you might continue to experience and witness to us the love of God; that, with Peter and Paul, you might continue to rejoice with great joy as you journey toward the goal of the faith."

Later, after more music and speeches by Cardinals Gerhard Müller and Angelo Sodano - respectively Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and Dean of the College of Cardinals - Benedict offered words of thanks to all his well-wishers, and in a particular way to Pope Francis. Speaking to the Holy Father, Benedict said, "Your kindness, from the first moment of the election, in every moment of my life here, strikes me, is a source of real inspiration for me. More than in the Vatican Gardens, with their beauty, your goodness is the place where I dwell. I feel protected."

The Pope emeritus also reflected on the concept of "thanksgiving," reflecting on a word written, in Greek, on a remembrance card from his first Mass. That word, he said, suggests "not only human thanksgiving, but naturally hints at the more profound word that is hidden, which appears in the liturgy, in the Scriptures," and in the words of consecration. The Greek word "eucharistomen," he said, "brings us back to that reality of thanksgiving, to that new dimension that Christ has given it. He has transformed into thanksgiving, and so into blessing, the Cross, suffering, all the evil of the world. And thus He has fundamentally transubstantiated life and the world, and has given us, and gives us today the Bread of true life, which overcomes the world thanks to the strength of his love."

Source: Vatican Radio

Tags: Pope Benedict, Pope Francis

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