After I heard the news that Pope Benedict was renouncing the papacy, I felt moved to record a brief, from-the-heart video expressing my thoughts and feelings. (I don’t like the word “renounce” either, but it is the technically correct term, and it was used by Pope Benedict in his announcement.)
I decided to do the video unscripted, in the form of a video open letter to Pope Benedict, expressing my admiration for him and my gratitude for his service to the Church.
I know he doesn’t know who I am and that he may never see the video, but I wanted to do it anyway.
I have very much valued the service Pope Benedict has given the Church. I have been an admirer of his for many years before he was elected pope, and his service to the Church was already staggering.
When he agreed to shoulder the burden of being the successor of St. Peter, the vicar of Christ, I cheered!
I had been afraid to let my hopes get up that he would be elected pope, but he was!
He is an awesome teacher and a man of deep thought, profound piety, and amazing humility.
I will miss him terribly. I respect and accept his decision. But I could not let this occasion pass without expressing the burden of my heart.
Here’s the video . . .
Now that I’ve had my say, it’s time for yours.
After making the video, it struck me that it would be possible to get people’s expressions of love and gratitude to Pope Benedict after he leaves office. (He’ll be far too busy beforehand.)
Therefore, I invite you to use the comments box to express your prayers and best wishes to Pope Benedict.
After his departure, I will print your messages in a large-type, easy-to-read format and send it to him, along with a cover letter again expressing my own gratitude to him.
(Before sending it, I will also delete any inappropriate messages, so keep it positive.)
But please, do, let him know how much you love him and value his service as the successor of St. Peter and how you support him at this challenging time.
Thank you, and God bless you.
Great idea, Jimmy!
Your Holiness, in gratitude for your dedication and devotion to Our Lord and the faithful, I pray that you retire in the Peace of Christ and the fullness of joy! Know that those who daily seek the Lord and long to meet him face to face have been blessed by your service. <3 God bless and keep you!
Thanks Jimmy! This is a great idea! I am with you on everything you said. We love Pope Benedict and respect his decision today. The Holy Spirit picked the right Cardinal last time and I am sure The holy Spirit will do it again this time!! We will continue to pray for Pope Benedict in his days after his pontificate. We will continue to read his writings and look forward to our new Pope. -Brian Beyer
Thanks, Jimmy. That was a heartfelt message that we all share in the depths of our affections for our Holy Father. Here’s mine:
Holy Father, thank you for the wonderful, faithful and courageous work you have given these eight years at the service of our Lord and of the whole Church. I am deeply saddened because I would have liked many more years of your guiding hand, your mighty pen and your unflagging faith at the helm. But I am profoundly grateful to have read your work, heard your words and seen the fruit of your stewardship. I have most definitely seen our Lord in his splendour and love through your leadership. You and your intentions will be in my prayers in the days to come, and I am certain that we, your spiritual children, will be in yours always. Thank you and God bless you! — Jeff Tan
Your Holiness:
I am a young Catholic Christian. You are the second man to serve as Pope in my memory, after Blessed John Paul II. To my shame, I did not appreciate your predecessor or his Papacy while he was alive, as it was during his Papacy that I fell away from the Church, and I was still away when he was taken up to Heaven. Only recently, since you have become our new Pope, did I find my faith and return to the Church.
To my even greater shame, given the above, only since you have announced your plan to renounce your office have I realized that I have not done much better by you. I have appreciated some of what little I knew about you: it was very brave of you to accept the Papacy when you were elected (I can’t imagine how I would have felt were I in your shoes!), and I appreciated your efforts to reunite Christians in the Holy Catholic Church, what with Anglican ordinariates and such.
But it’s only now that you’re no longer to be our Pope that I truly recognize that I did not in fact appreciate your Papacy as much as you deserved, or yourself as a man: I did not even know you existed until you were announced as the new Pope. But what a man of strength and courage and virtue you must be: not only to be the Pope, but to be the Pope at a time when the human element of the Church has lost so much temporal power and reputation (and unity), must have been extremely difficult–and I’m sure that uncharitable accusations against you personally for the sex abuse scandals can’t have helped matters much. I cannot fathom myself in your situation, I have to say, on top of which you have had much life experience, and my own experience on Earth is limited, and my experience of the Church far less still. Bravo to you for taking this burden upon your shoulders!
In addition, it is difficult for me even to appreciate the full significance of your decision to renounce the Papacy, even though such a thing has not happened in my lifetime, and I know that such a thing has not happened in almost 600 years. Perhaps it is because I am an American: I am used to former holders of the highest office in the land being alive during the terms of their successors. In addition, since I have become aware of other monarchies besides Vatican City, there have been no abdications nor even changes in monarch in the monarchies that I have followed, and so again it is difficult for me to appreciate what you are doing now, and the significance of it.
I ask you to pray for me, as I will pray for you and for your successor and those who will elect him. In particular, I ask that you pray that I might appreciate our new Pope, while he is our Pope, more than I did Blessed John Paul II or yourself during your respective Papacies. Permit me to say one more thing: while I am sorry that you feel you can no longer fulfill your duties as our Holy Father, I am nevertheless happy for the fact that our receiving a new Pope so soon was not due to your death, as with your predecessor, and that we will still have you with us here on Earth even when we call another man “Your Holiness”.
God bless you!
I watched this again for the second time and am grateful to you Jimmy for the video.
Your Holiness,
I will miss you very much. I was filled with much joy and gratitude the day of your election. I remember the beauty of your smile as you stood on the balcony as you blessed us all. I cried at such a wondrous sight. I remember the hope that filled me as I knew we would be guided safely and closer to our Lord by your faithful service and love of Christ and his Church.
I thank you, with all of my heart, for your faithfulness. I thank you for your clarity and for your humility and love of truth and learning and teaching.
May your retirement be a time of grace and peace. As you begin this new phase of life, be assured of my prayers and of my love for you. I will never forget you dear Papa…never!
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for having given us such a wonderful Papa to watch over us all. May we be inspired to love you and to serve you as our Holy Father has.
May the good Lord be with you always and may our holy Mother Mary be ever at your side Holy Father.
Muchisimas gracias!
Gloria VL
Your Holiness,
It was clear from the first moment of your papacy, as you stood on the balcony acknowledging the roar of the crowds gathered in Saint Peter’s Square, and up until this day of your announced retirement, that you are a man who is faithful to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and motivated by your great love for Jesus Christ and his people here on earth. You are the 6th Pope of my lifetime, and while all have been good and holy leaders, I have drawn the most inspiration from your time at the helm of God’s Church. Although the papacy was not your choice, you accepted the heavy mantle with grace and have dealt forthrightly with the many problems and issues facing the Church today. Thank you for your guidance and your example. I will pray for you to have peace in your retirement, and in gratitude for the time we have been able to call you “Papa”!
– nancyo
Your Holiness,
Thank you for everything. Thank you for being willing to be used by God. I will be praying for you as you enter the next part of His will for you.
Dear Holy Father,
Thank you for your great service to this world; especially to me and my family. You will always and forever be in me and my family’s prayers. We love you, papa!
John Allen
@JimmyAkin3000 thanks for sharing you thought on the Pope. I learn a lot from you. I admire your openness.
FYI, there is a moderated website created yesterday for this purpose, not to knock Jimmy’s own great idea (and video tributes are great!). Please consider leaving your message there too and spreading the word about it!
http://thankyoupopebenedict.com
Dear Papa, my family and I will always love you and cherish the gifts you have given to our Church. I thank you for blessing us and shaking our hands during our visit to you, which has been an unimaginable gift. We are your fans, your sons and daughters. We wish you health and ease as you retire, but are very sad to see you leave. Our gratitude is immeasurable and we are at ease knowing that you are at peace with your decision, because we trust you as we’ll as love you with all our hearts. Love, Karen Heiby and Family
Dearest Holy Father,
Thank you so very much for everything you have done in service to Holy Mother Church. You have been a tremendous inspiration. You have nourished the faithful with the truth in an age of relativism. Thank you for your service. I have prayed for you very often. I wish you the very best for the future. I will continue to pray for you. Please remember me and my dear family in your prayers. United in Jesus and Mary, Michael Velosa and family
Dear Holy Father,
Thank you for eight years of tireless service to the Church as pope and many more years before that in other capacities. You truly were the embodiment of truth in love, and I pray that me and my loved ones will be able to imitate you in this. You will be dearly missed and will continue to be in our daily prayers. Please pray for my family too.
Lance, Kim and Anna (9) Barry
Dearest Papa, thank you for leading God’s church faithfully and lovingly at such a hard time in history. We will miss you and pray for you always.
Dear Holy Father,
I will miss you terribly. Your election came just as I was received into the Church. You have been an example of self-sacrifice and service to the Church. I will keep you in my prayers.
Sincerely,
Julia Savard
Dearest Holy Father,
I cannot thank you enough for all you have done for Our Catholic Church in such a short time. You have strengthened us and are leaving a legacy of priceless treasure. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication; please know it is not in vain! I will miss you so very much. I’m so sad you have to go but I am so happy for you to follow God’s will in this next chapter of your life. You will always be in my prayers. Please feel at peace and know your decision is respected and admired. God Bless you always, Papa! You will never be forgotten.
Love,
Elizabeth Araujo
Dear Holy Father, thank you for restoring the Latin Mass to the Church.
Dear holy Father, I truely thank you from the bottom of my heart. In these turbulent times you have helped us hold fast to our faith. You have given us the wherewithal to state that “yes I am catholic and proud to be one”. These past few years I have marveled at your stamina. We are caring for our 82 year old mother who can’t do even a fraction of what your day entails, so have and will contiue to pray for your strength, comfort and heath. I know this is uncharted territory for us as Catholics to have both an “emeritus” and an active Pope but I appreciate that we will get to learn more of our faith through any other writings you undertake in your retirement. Thank you
Holy Father, I prayed for God to give you courage each day. Anthony
Your Holiness,
What a great gift you have been to the Universal Church, particularly during your papacy for the last eight years. So much wisdom in one man can only come from a continuous guidance from the Holy Spirit in a life journey. Thank you for striving to holiness of the Church. Thank you for the creative and intelligent ideas that you have put into the work of the Church. May God continue to bless His Church with the knowledge and Faith that you have sown in the people of God. May God also reward your faithful work that you have done for the good of His universal flock, which it was entrusted to you for all these years. There is still so much of your work that I myself have not read or reflected enough. In my own spiritual journey I still have Papa Benedict XVI for many years to come.
-Ricardo
Holy Father..Thank you for your service to our Church. It is sad for me that you must leave but I understand & respect your decision & I know that takes much humilty. I pray for you now & will continue to pray for you.
With Love & Respect for you, Leisa
God bless you. Pray for us.
Holy Father,
I read that on the announcement that you were to be the next Pope that the Cardinals wept for joy. I remember being in awe of this and wondering what manner of Pope we now had that could bring up such deep emotions in our spiritual leaders. Eight years later, and I now weep with sadness at the announcement that your papacy is coming to an end for I now understand why they wept then. Thank you, Father, for your leadership, for your holy guiding presence and for your writings, which I have treasured reading weekly. May God bless you now and forever.
Holy Father,
Anybody who tries to take on the responsibility that comes with being the Pope is worthy of praise. That you handled the office so wonderfully makes your resignation all the sadder. You are the Pope of Christian unity-if the SSPX does not return before you renounce your position it will be sad day indeed for them.
I will always remember you fondly for your efforts to reunite with the SSPX and your commitment to restoring the TRUE spirit of Vatican II, and for your wonderful theological insights. You will be missed.
-MarcAnthony
Holy Father,
Thank you for all you have done for the church. And all you will continue to do for us through your prayer life. Pray for us Papa. And we will pray for you and your successor. Thank You so much!!! Ruth
Holy Father,
Thank for your years at the service of our church you have truly inspired me to walk closer with Jesus through the scriptures and i know your writings will continue to inspire me through my life. i am truly sad to see you leave but i know you are doing Gods Will. Pray for us Holy Father,you forever will be in mine. Joseph
Holy Father,
I thank you so much for your dedicated and humble service to the Church. I entered the church at Easter 2011, therefore you will always hold a special place in my heart as the pope at the time I “came home.”
God bless you all of your days; you have been a beacon of humility, faith, charity and intellectual insight into our faith.
Anthony John Murphy
I have great appreciation and love for Pope Benedict and Pope John Paul II as they courageously and loudly upheld the faith in sexual morals and never minced words just to accommodate powerful nations or people. Also they have initiated the “New Evangelization” especially for Europe where the anti-christian forces are trying to erase Christian thoughts, philosophy and religion. Pope Benedict’s idea that the quality is more important than the quantity( number of catholics) is another excellent utterance.
Thank you Poppa Benedict for your service to Christ and His Church. We love you and will miss you. May God continue to bless you.
Thank you for your service to the Church. I pray that Christ continues to hold you close to His most Sacred Heart and that you continue to grow in love for HIm. God Bless you.
You taught me, as a young person, “not to be afraid to be a Saint”. For this I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Holy Father, who has taught myself and countless others among the faithful the gospel of Jesus Christ, may the Lord bless and preserve you, and always lift up his countenance toward you, now and forever!
The Holy Father’s wording is harsh but for the right reason. That last thing he wants is for this situation to create some silly schism…say the Society of Benedict the XVI? 🙂 Thank God for our Holy Father’s humility and attention to detail! “Renounce” is the perfect and only suitable word.
Dearest Holy Father,
Thank you so much for everything. I cannot begin to state all about which I am grateful to you for. I am a better wife, mother, and Catholic thanks to your gentle teaching. While I will miss you terribly, I know that you will continue to pray for us all, and your writings will continue to inspire us.
Love, Jennifer
Dearest Holy Father,
My words are not sufficient to express to you the gratitude that I owe you. I am a very bad sinner who dwells in heartless darkness and have roamed most of my life lost and scared. It was you, dear father, whom God used to guide me. The endless grace of the God of truth reached me through you, His servant. Your writings and words were how I came to know Our Lord Jesus Christ. You disturbed me and challenged me, every excuse I put up you helped to tear down. Every question that I used to place a barrier, you kindly answered. You have been a guide and teacher, a father. Thank you. You have my love and my gratitude for all eternity.
Francisco Lozano
Dearest Holy Father
Your profound words full of wisdom, humility reached our hearts. We will miss them and we will miss you. But we wish you a quiet senectude.
Farewell Holy Father
Josef Beneš
Re=elect Pope Benedict the 16th. He’s awesome!
Dear Holy Father,
You have brought me closer to Christ in so many ways by your words and deeds. May God bless you always.
Gerald
I wish to say my profound thanks to God our Father, for giving us in my lifetime – Pope Benedict XVI; always when I read his homilies, meditation, and writings and books especially the 3 volumes on Jesuschrist, I felt more closer to Jesus, I think the Holy Spirit is guiding me or God is speaking to me personally. As Simeon said, “my own eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared in the sight of every people”(Luke 2: 30-31) – I feel I can say this to for myself.
Cardinal Abril Castello said,”we won’t have the lucidity and clarity of his teaching as Pontiff, although we will be able to continue to profit from the books, addresses and documents he has left us”.
Jesus Christ always assures us, He will not leave us orphans…
Your Eminence, Coming from a religious background that was very critical of the Catholic Church, I was scared to convert even when I was convicted by study and the Holy Spirit that the Catholic Church was God’s authoritative Body. Your personal piety, your holiness and your intellectual spirituality gave me peace and confidence to swim the Tiber. With love and thankfulness I send you my prayers. One day, in eternity, I would love to hug you and give you my personal thanks. God bless, Teresa Beem
Thank you Pope Benedict for your service to Christ and His Church. We love you and will miss you. May God continue to bless you!
Aren’t we blessed to have Pope Benedict continuing to pray for us after his retirement. Nothing is more powerful than prayer, especially those of a good and holy man.
Dearest Holy Father,
Thank you for your service to the Lord, to the Church, and to all of us. You will be in our prayers always. We are not always as grateful as we should be, but we try.
– Alan and Family
Dear Papa – We watched every minute of coverage of the conclave when you were elected Pope. I was so excited when you were elected that I phoned my husband, a teacher in public school (sort of a big no-no to interrupt teachers in the classroom), to tell him the news, and he said the other Catholic teacher in the room next to him burst in the hallway at the same time screaming the good news. We have prayed for you ever since and love you dearly. Thank you in particular for the love and compassion you’ve shown to our children and loved ones with developmental disabilities. Please continue to pray for them as we will be praying for you.
Pope Benedict XVI, you have changed my life for the better by teaching me so much about Jesus Christ the person. You saved my life by enabling the Tridentine Mass to flourish again, which brought me back to the Church. You truly practice salus animarum suprema lex. Ad majorem Dei gloriam. Tom Heckel
Holy Father, you have helped me and my father rediscover our Catholic faith, and come to a much deeper understanding of our Lord. We thank God for your ministry in these times, and consider ourselves blessed to have had you. We thank you for all that you have done for us. You will always be in our prayers.
Vale Santus Pater.
I didn’t allow myself to even hope the Cardinals would elect you in the conclave following the death of Pope John Paul II. When your election was announced I met it with unmittigated joy. You had long been one of my favorite modern theologians and your faithful service to Christ’s Church as the head of the CDF was a model of charity at the service of truth. Your work as pope, as a “humble worker in the Lord’s vinayrd,” was inspirational from your inspiring encyclicals to your enabling Anglicans to come into fll commuion through the new ordinariates. So it was with a very heavy heart that I heard the news of your resignation. I read your announcement and while I do not fully understand your reasoning I accept it as, hopefully, a loyal son of the Church. “Quo vadis, Dominus?” I have prayed for you daily since your election and will continue to do so after your retirement. If anyone deserves a chance to retire it certainly is you but please don’t hold it against me if I pray for the Holy Spirit to inspire the Cardinals to re-elect in the coming conclave!
Filio tuo in Christe,
Christopher
Dear Pope Benedict,
For my brief life (6 years) as a Catholic, you have been “my pope.” When I came into the Church in 2007, you were the pope and you have been for my entire Catholic life. Reading your first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, was very moving to me. Reading some of your writings on Faith and reason, such as the Regensburg Address, helped greatly in my conversion by reassuring me that I was not renouncing reason in taking up the Faith.
Since Easter 2005, my life come a long way. I married (a wonderful Catholic man) and we had a baby. We almost met you on our honeymoon. My husband and I attended the sposi novelli audience in Rome on June 24, 2009 after our wedding. We were in the fourth row; I stood on my chair when you came out and waved my heart out to you there in my wedding dress. And I like to think that you saw me.
I’ve enjoyed reading your books, especially the interviews with Peter Seewald and the recent book by your brother. Your example of holiness and deep scholarship are an inspiration to me and my family. Your honesty is refreshing.
Thank you so much for the work you have done. The media is never friendly to pope or the Church, but you carried on, and we needed that. Your ever-kind but firm words are a source of comfort and insight and reveal you to be a true model of Jesus.
I, for one, am very sad to see you leave the papal office. But I also believe that you have more than earned some rest and relaxation.
Thank you so very much for your selfless service.(Auch, I habe ein bisschen Deutsch studiert. Vielen Dank für Ihren Dienst, heiliger Vater.)
Pax Christi,
Stephanie Pacheco
Falls Church, VA
Dear Papa,
I love you so much and I will miss you! I met you at WYD in Spain, 2011. Words can’t express how I felt as you pass by and blessed my son and I. I will pray for you and you will always be in my heart. Glenda
So… you renounce! I am not surprised. Many years ago you renounced a normal life. Yourenounced having a wife. You renounced having children. You renounced earning an income. You renounced mediocrity. You renounced sleeping hours, in order to have hours of study. You renounced being one more priest but also you renounced being a special priest. You renounced filling your head with Mozart in order to fill it with theology. You renounced weeping in the arms of your parents. You renounced retirement being 85 year old, enjoying you grandchildren in the comfort of your home and the warmth of a fireplace. You renounced enjoying your country. You renounced taking time off. You renounced your vanity. You renounced defending yourself against those who attacked you.
No wonder! It becomes clear to me, that you are attached to renunciation.
I will spend my life giving thanks to God for having had a Pope like you,
George
So… you renounce! I am not surprised. Many years ago you renounced a normal life. You renounced having a wife. You renounced having children. You renounced earning an income. You renounced mediocrity. You renounced sleeping hours, in order to have hours of study. You renounced being one more priest but also you renounced being a special priest. You renounced filling your head with Mozart in order to fill it with theology. You renounced weeping in the arms of your parents. You renounced retirement being 85 year old, enjoying you grandchildren in the comfort of your home and the warmth of a fireplace. You renounced enjoying your country. You renounced taking time off. You renounced your vanity. You renounced defending yourself against those who attacked you.
No wonder! It becomes clear to me, that you are attached to renunciation.
I will spend my life giving thanks to God for having had a Pope like you,
George
Holy Father:
I am reading you books on Jesus of Nazareth for my Lenten discipline.
I will miss you, and I will pray for you.
Holy Father,
Thank you for being God’s “pencil”. I love you, and I will always pray for you.
Dear Holy Father,
Thank you for appointing such wonderful men to be Bishops in the United States. People like Dolan in NY, Chaput in Philadelphia, and Gomez in Los Angeles have undertaken the difficult work of reawakening the Catholic faith in a place where it has withered. These are great men – men of character and men of faith. We need shepherds now in the West who are not afraid to defend the teachings of Jesus. You knew that, and to me, your legacy will be in your focus on vocations. We need more priests – and it is great bishops who set the example and bring great priests to the Church.
I’m also grateful for the many letters and speeches that I have read on the Internet, which allowed me the opportunity to get to know your thoughts and your passion. So many images I now cherish in prayer – such thoughts like your description of tradition as “the roots of the tree” and without the roots, a tree withers and dies. As Pope you made the choice to put aside deep theological language and chose to speak in a language a normal person could understand. You opened me to the wonder of reason interacting with faith. Thank you for that.
May God continue to bless you while you are with us.
Sincerely,
Tom Esposito
Newark, DE – USA
Dear Pope Benedict,
Thank you so much for your papacy. Your words speak to my heart. You brought back beauty to the Truth when it had continually be challenged. You brought back beauty to tradition when it had been mocked. You reminded us always that everything must lead to an encounter with the person of Jesus.
Thank you again. I was saddened only because I will miss you. Hidden you may choose to be after your abdication, but in the hearts of many you will remain. <3
much love and respect,
Virginia (Philippines)
Your Holiness in Christ,
I want to thank you so much for your sacrifice for the Church. I know you only served as Pope because you wanted to do God’s Will. Your hearts desire was to retire and write even when you were Cardinal Ratzinger, but you kept answering God’s Call !!!
You are such a beautiful teacher and continued to write so beautifully as our Holy Father. My beloved husband who passed on over 3 years ago was so inspired by your first book in the Jesus of Nazareth Trio, that he gave one to our pastor before he even finished his! I have your second one on Jesus’ passion and plan to use it for meditations this Lent. I cherish your last book released for Advent on the Infancy Narratives that I used for Advent Meditations last year. I see that the good Lord gave you time to write in your busy schedule as fulfilling His Will for you! Thank you for calling for our beautiful Year of Faith and your beautiful Apostolic Letter – “Porta Fidae” written so all of us simple folk could understand.
I appreciate so much what you have done for our Legionary Priests and Brothers and for us in Regnum Christi. It was your confidence in us that caused you to name the beautiful Cardinal Velasio de Paolis as the Delegate for the Legion and Regnum Christi. In his words of encouragement to us he said you named him “to revitalize, discover and renew the great energies that exist in the Legion and Regnum Christi. We will be forever grateful !!!
Please be assured of my continued prayers for you!
With much love in Christ,
Judy (Texas)
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Dear Holy Father,
There is no way to express how sad and shocked I was when I heard that you had abdicated the papacy. I am a convert to the Catholic faith; I was received into the Church during Easter Vigil 2000. I had spent the previous seven years reading about the Catholic faith, and your books, especially *Introduction to Christianity,* had a profound effect on me. I loved your writings, and I always will. I am Catholic today partly because of your influence. My husband, who was received in 2011, is also Catholic today partly through your influence. The ripple effect will continue.
I remember the powerful events surrounding the funeral of Blessed John Paul II, your funeral homily, and the various events of those days. I remember the day you were elected–a windy day in mid-Michigan–and I called my husband in from the yard to watch the unfolding of the papal announcement on TV. When Cardinal Medina read your name, my husband gave a mighty shout and scared the cat that was on his lap! We were so happy! I remember feeling that space was being created so that anything good could happen.
And so many good things DID happen. Anglicanorum Coetibus, Summorum Pontificum, etc. There have been so many wonderful moments in my life because of you, dear Holy Father, and because you have been very transparent to Christ.
I think our Lord will take you to Himself soon. You must be looking forward to that day with great anticipation. Please pray for us, both now, while you are still on this side, and later, when you have crossed over and are beholding our Lord face to face. Please pray for me that I may have the transparency to Christ that you have shown by example. I will pray for you, and I will pray for your soul when you are taken from us–and when you get over there, I’ll be begging for your prayers some more! I love you, and I will always love you, and I can’t wait to see you in heaven as I so much wish I could have gone to Rome while you were Pope.
With love, gratitude, and many prayers,
Ardella Crawford
Thank you. You are in my prayers every day, and I know you pray for us.
Thank you Jimmy for sharing : ) May the Holy Spirit continue to lead the Church where ever she needs to be for the proper bringing up of Christians in Holiness, May the Holy Spirit choose a new great Pope that can be the best yet especially in these troubled times. Holy Spirit please open our hearts and minds, lead us to truth, in Jesus name Amen!
Dear Papa Benedict,
My husband and eight children and I are praying for you. We love you and we will miss you.
We love you pope benedict!
Most Holy Father,
For almost 25 years you were the theological rock and support of Blessed Pope John Paul II and in doing so you were our support in a tumultuous world.
After reading an article by the late Fr John Richard Neuhaus (First Things) I predicted to my family that you would be elected in a few ballots because I sensed that God had prepared you to lead us after the historic papacy of JPII. In the years after you became Pope I often thought that perhaps we were witnessing a historic 1 -2 ; a partnership almost like one Pontificate with two Popes.
Your holiness, the beautiful simplicity of your writings and your kind and gentle personality have touched my life giving me more understanding of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and strengthening my Faith. You have definitely confirmed me in my Faith. It is not possible to thank you for each and every thing you have done for us while you walked in the Shoes of the Fisherman and stood by the Cross of Christ but what is important is that our family is deeply grateful to you and to Our Lord for having given you to us in lifelong service to the Truth. We hold you very much in our hearts with much love and affection
Thank you for your courage, humility, prudence and wisdom in making the decision to abdicate from the Chair of Peter. Without any doubt I know you have done this in the best interests of the Church of Christ and I am sure that the Holy Spirit used your great stature in the Church and among the cardinals to reform the election of the Successor of Peter, change the variables and bring renewed vigour and oxygen to the leader of Christ’s Church on earth. The world has changed and is continuing to change, the demands on the Pope have increased ten fold and now you have helped to change the Papacy to address all these challenges!
We will always hold you dear in our hearts and pray for you and give thanks to God for the gift He made to us in you!
With much filial love and affection we wish you the peace and joy of your Master now and always!
John de Souza,
London, England
Holy Father, I know it’s useless to say this, but I cannot help it. “Please don’t go!”. I admire you very much. I’m becoming Catholic next month and you are one of the reasons I was drawn to Catholicism. I was so happy that you were going to be my first pope, and now I cannot overcome this sadness. I was fortunate to be able to attend the Christmas Eve Mass 2012 in St.Peter’s Basilica. It was surreal to see you and hear your voice in person. I cannot believe that would be your last Christmas Eve Mass as a pope. I’m very sad but I want to tell you “thank you”. You are loved and will be missed by so many. You always will be in my prayers.
Holy Father,
Thank you so much for your service to the Church! I know that it was not an easy time to be Pope. It has not been an easy time to be Catholic either. But you shepherded us through the storm. I would not be the Catholic I am today without you. Your writing has inspired me, and has forged in me a new found love for theology and evangelization. It has been my pleasure to serve the Catholic Church under you, and I will miss you tremendously, as I know many others will. Thank you for your commitment to unity with the Orthodox churches and to your unfailing commitment to Truth. I will be praying for you always, and I know that, despite how sad I am because of your leaving, you are only doing so because you really no longer can fulfill the roll as Supreme Pontiff. Thank you for your humility. I love you and may God bless you for the rest of your days, Julia McCoy
Beloved Holy Father, one of the most joyous and exciting memories of my life was when I saw the white smoke and heard the church bells pealing on April 19, 2005. I waited breathlessly to see who our new pope would be, all the while praying: Lord, let it be Cardinal Ratzinger. When you stepped out onto that balcony, I was in tears. I knew the Church would be safe in your holy and capable hands.
My husband and I traveled to Rome four times during your pontificate, and were even present at your 80th birthday celebration in the audience hall. Although we have never met you personally, you won our hearts with your gentleness and profound humility. We deeply love you.
We were shocked at your announcement, and will miss you so very much. But, we trust your wisdom and know that you are doing the Lord’s Will. Still, it is so hard to lose you as our “Papa.” I cannot imagine anyone replacing you in our hearts.
On vacation in Bavaria last October, we visited your birthplace of Marktl, and some other towns associated with your childhood.
We are so proud of you! Thank you for all that you did for the Church, during your eight years as pontiff. Thank you most of all for restoring to the Holy Mass some of the sublimity and beauty which had been lost for so long. You have done so much, in such a short time. Know that you will be in our hearts and prayers until one day the word “Saint” is before your name.
We wish you peace and joy in your retirement years, and we know that Our Lord’s Church will be ever in your prayers. It is so hard to say good-bye……We love you! Patricia and Noel Ricord, USA
Your Holiness,
Thank you for your faithfulness to Christ and your years lovingly shepherding the Church.
Beloved Pope Benedict XVI,
Much are you respected by all and loved especially by us, your Catholic children, whom you have served with great dedication, from professor, to bishop, to Cardinal to Pope. Thank you for continually showing us the face and person of Christ in what you write, say and teach.
Thank you for displaying such humility and courage in making your resignation decision with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. May your time after Feb. 28th be one of increasing closeness to the Lord, who one day will surely say to you : “welcome, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord”.
As you pass your earthly days with your friends : Augustine, Aquinas, Bonaventure and Mozart, please consider writing another book on Jesus.
Ad multos annos
Cedric de Souza,
Calgary, Canada
Holy Father,
Thank you so much for dedicating the last 7+ years of your life to the service of God’s flock. It is sad to see you go. We will miss you greatly. We know that you will remain in spirit with us. May God bless and keep you.
Holy Father,
Thank you so much for dedicating the last 7+ years of your life to the service of God’s flock. It is sad to see you go. We will miss you greatly. We know that you will remain in spirit with us. May God bless and keep you.
Holy Father,
Thank you so much for dedicating the last 7+ years of your life to the service of God’s flock. It is sad to see you go. We will miss you greatly. We know that you will remain in spirit with us. May God bless and keep you.
Holy Father,
Thank you so much for dedicating the last 7+ years of your life to the service of God’s flock. It is sad to see you go. We will miss you greatly. We know that you will remain in spirit with us. May God bless and keep you.
Holy Father,
Thank you so much for dedicating the last 7+ years of your life to the service of God’s flock. It is sad to see you go. We will miss you greatly. We know that you will remain in spirit with us. May God bless and keep you.
Papa,
You are “my pope”. When I came into full communion with the Catholic Church in 2007, I had no idea what was in store for me. Leading by example, you showed me what the liturgy was and you introduced me to the beauty and solemnity of the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. As I pursue an knowledge of Latin so as to unlock many of the treasures of the Church, I have you to thank through your influence as well as through your establishment of the Pontifical Academy for Latin. I’ve bought a large amount of your books because the more you speak, the more I want to listen and learn. Thanks to your dedication towards healing the wounds of the divisions in the Body of Christ, I now enjoy membership in the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. As a result of the efforts you gave in your tireless love of the Lord and His Bride, my life as a Catholic will always be influenced after your own heart. Your books, addresses, lectures, encyclicals, letters, and homilies throughout the decades of your time in the service of the Lord will offer me a lifetime of learning that I will always cherish. I will definitely pray for the Cardinals as well as every pope until my final breath, but I also want to assure you of my prayers always. I will miss you, but I will hold onto the hope that you will pray for me and that we will surely meet one day in the Kingdom of the Lord. Thank you for all that you have done and will continue to do for us. God bless you always.
Prayerfully yours with the love of Christ,
Jason A. Edwards
USA
Holy Father,
Thank you for a life that continues to be filled with prayerful service and love in Christ. I had the priviledge and honor to attend one of your general audiences in 2007, and it was a moment I will never forget. Your humility and leadership have truly changed my life and have enkindled in me a passion to deepen my relationship with Jesus through our one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. Please continue to pray for all of us, your brothers and sisters in Christ, as we continue to pray for you.
Yours in Christ,
Walt Streacker
USA
Dear Holy Father,
I was saddened by the words you uttered on February 11, 2013 “I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter”. I watched your final General Audience today and was overcome with emotion listening to your words and watching the great love that the pilgrims expressed. I have been inspired by the “Jesus of Nazareth” series. They have given me a new love of the gospels. I hope that you will continue to write and share your deep faith and beautiful words with the people of God.
You will always be in my prayers.
God bless you Holy Father.
Gail Quigley
USA
Holy Father,
Thank you for your service to our Lord and his Church. Your teachings and writings have been especially instrumental in my conversion, and I am sure the continuing conversion of countless others. I thank God for the gift of your pontificate.
With eternal gratitude,
Kyle Bjorklund
USA
[To Jimmy Akin: Thank you very much for giving us this great opportunity to have our voices in words get transported to Papa Benedict. Since you will only send this to Papa Benedict after his departure, I’ll use his in-retirement title. Also, do feel free to edit the content of this my letter where necessary and appropriate before sending it.]Dear Your Holiness Benedict XVI, Pope Emeritus,I pray Your Holiness is very well in physical health with a heart full of joy and always in high spirit with the lofty mind.I don’t even know where to begin to go further. There are so many things that I want to tell Your Holiness. But let me start by expressing my deepest abundant gratitude for all that you are as well as for all that you give to the Church and to the world even if the world does not recognize it. I also wish to express my long-standing admiration and esteem for Your Holiness ever since my first encounter with Your Holiness when I was still in college some thirty years ago through an article I’d read in a newspaper about Your Holiness’ profoundly brilliant and strong defense of the Catholic Faith when Your Holiness was then Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. I had wished there and then for Your Holiness to become the next Pope in the event of a succession. How tremendously joyful and secure I was feeling deep in my spirit when indeed Your Holiness got elected as Pope in 2005. That was the great consolation after so much tears over the passing of our mighty beloved Papa John Paul II. How endlessly I’d thanked God for that and for what that meant to the Church. And since then I’d grown to love, honor and revere Your Holiness with the months and years of being our Papa (in my mother-tongue of Malaysian Dayak Bidayuh, Pope is “Sante Papa”). The gifts which flow through and from Your Holiness will not end with the renunciation of the Petrine Office because those numerous gifts benefiting so many had been flowing even before Your Holiness assumed the Office. Such is Your Holiness’s invaluable contribution to the Life of the Church, as well as to the world. In light of that, I wish Your Holiness an immensely abundant joy and the most serene of time filled with grace throughout Your Holiness’ semi-retirement. I say ‘semi-retirement’ because I think Your Holiness will still continue to work from a humble new desk with the ever blessedly unique disposition and dedication in the utmost capacity, with the combination of much prayers and supplications in love for the whole needy Church as well as for the whole world. And whatever is produced and how many via Your Holiness’ desk in the next phase of life would surely mean more invaluable gifts for the Church and for the world.Permit me now to tell Papa this trivia I’d practiced for many years now: To begin my daily morning prayer, I’d always greet the Heavenly Court as well as the Triumphant Church and the Suffering Church first, followed by a greeting for my three little boy-saints who’d left this world; I’d also include Papa with a “good morning” greeting to wish for Papa to have a good day all throughout the day even as I’d also pray for Papa’s person and intentions; sometimes I’d even remember to wish “good night” at the close of the day. What great joy there is in my spirit each time I do this regardless how small it is. Some may call this my practice cultist, but for me, it’s a devotion in the form of a little silent manifestation of the truth of belonging to God’s entire Family, the Church. Finally, I humbly wish to unite myself with Papa in prayer always especially for the New Pope, without neglecting all the bishops and priests of the Church, as well as for the whole Church in the company of Mary Our Blessed Mother even as we must continue on this trying journey of the mortal life on to the everlasting life to be with God Our Father.All this from a tremendously grateful heart of a child of the Church who loves you, Papa and Leader of this Church for a time, very dearly and will certainly miss your visible presence awfully,Mary Patsy John (a Malaysian currently residing in Houston, Texas, USA)
Your Holiness,
Thank you so much for being a father to us. As a teacher and writer you gave us encyclicals and books that will always be available from which to learn. As a father you loved us. But most of all as a priest you brought Jesus to us. Thank you. I love you dearly and will pray for you.
Sincerely,
Mary Ridder
[To Jimmy Akin: Thank you very much for giving us this great opportunity to have our voices in words get transported to Papa Benedict. Since you will send this to Papa Benedict “after his departure”, I will address him as such. Also, do feel free to edit the content of this my letter where necessary and appropriate before sending it.]
Dear Your Holiness Benedict XVI, Pope Emeritus,
I pray Your Holiness is very well in physical health with a heart full of joy and always in high spirit in the lofty mind.
I don’t even know where to begin to go further. There are so many things that I want to tell Your Holiness. But let me start by expressing my deepest abundant gratitude for all that you are as well as for all that you give to the Church and to the world even if the world does not recognize it. I also wish to express my long-standing admiration and esteem for Your Holiness ever since my first encounter with Your Holiness when I was still in college some thirty years ago through an article I’d read in a newspaper about Your Holiness’ profoundly brilliant and strong defense of the Catholic Faith when Your Holiness was then Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. I had wished there and then for Your Holiness to become the next Pope in the event of a succession. How tremendously joyful and secure I was feeling deep in my spirit when indeed Your Holiness got elected as Pope in 2005. That was the great consolation after so much tears over the passing of our mighty beloved Papa John Paul II. How endlessly I’d thanked God for that and for what that meant to the Church. And since then I’d grown to love, honor and revere Your Holiness with the months and years of being our Papa (in my mother-tongue of Malaysian Dayak Bidayuh, Pope is “Sante Papa”). The gifts which flow through and from Your Holiness will not end with the renunciation of the Petrine Office because those numerous gifts benefiting so many had been flowing even before Your Holiness assumed the Office. Such is Your Holiness’s invaluable contribution to the Life of the Church, as well as to the world. In light of that, I wish Your Holiness an immensely abundant joy and the most serene of time filled with grace throughout Your Holiness’ semi-retirement. I say ‘semi-retirement’ because I think Your Holiness will still continue to work from a humble new desk with the ever blessedly unique disposition and dedication in the utmost capacity, with the combination of much prayers and supplications in love for the whole needy Church as well as for the whole world. And whatever is produced and how many via Your Holiness’ desk in the next phase of life would surely mean more invaluable gifts for the Church and for the world. Permit me now to tell Papa this trivia I’d practiced for many years now: To begin my daily morning prayer, I’d always greet the Heavenly Court as well as the Triumphant Church and the Suffering Church first, followed by a greeting for my three little boy-saints who’d left this world; I’d also include Papa with a “good morning” greeting to wish for Papa to have a good day all throughout the day even as I’d also pray for Papa’s person and intentions; sometimes I’d even remember to wish “good night” at the close of the day. What great joy there is in my spirit each time I do this regardless how small it is. Some may call this my practice cultist, but for me, it’s a devotion in the form of a little silent manifestation of the truth of belonging to God’s entire Family, the Church. Finally, I humbly wish to unite myself with Papa in prayer always especially for the New Pope, without neglecting all the bishops and priests of the Church, as well as for the whole Church in the company of Mary Our Blessed Mother even as we must continue on this trying journey of the mortal life on to the everlasting life to be with God Our Father. All this from a tremendously grateful heart of a child of the Church who loves you, Papa and Leader of this Church for a time, very dearly and will certainly miss your visible presence awfully, Mary Patsy John (a Malaysian currently residing in Houston, Texas, USA)
Holy Father,
Thank you for everything you have done in for the Church and for our faith . My husband and I have recently become much better Catholics after we committed during last Advent to learn more about the faith into which we were born. During the season, we experience a transformation in our relationship with God and our outlook on the world. I believe your proclamation of this year as the Year of Faith has brought us closer to the Church, and we have begun to understand the true meaning of our faith and feel the presence of God in our lives so much more deeply. You are a wonderful leader, and your scholarly work especially resonates with us, as well as your firm stance against the sometimes overwhelmingly presence of secularism in our times.
I hope you have a peaceful retirement, filled with prayer and study. We will miss you dearly!
Love,
Allison Gatrone
[To Jimmy Akin: Thank you very much for giving us this great opportunity to have our voices in words get transported to Papa Benedict. Since you will send this to Papa Benedict “after his departure”, I will address him as such. Also, do feel free to edit the content of this my letter where necessary and appropriate before sending it.]Dear Your Holiness Benedict XVI, Pope Emeritus, I pray Your Holiness is very well in physical health with a heart full of joy and always in high spirit in the lofty mind. I don’t even know where to begin to go further. There are so many things that I want to tell Your Holiness. But let me start by expressing my deepest abundant gratitude for all that you are as well as for all that you give to the Church and to the world even if the world does not recognize it. I also wish to express my long-standing admiration and esteem for Your Holiness ever since my first encounter with Your Holiness when I was still in college some thirty years ago through an article I’d read in a newspaper about Your Holiness’ profoundly brilliant and strong defense of the Catholic Faith when Your Holiness was then Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. I had wished there and then for Your Holiness to become the next Pope in the event of a succession. How tremendously joyful and secure I was feeling deep in my spirit when indeed Your Holiness got elected as Pope in 2005 – in this sense, you are “my Pope”. That was the great consolation after so much tears over the passing of our mighty beloved Papa John Paul II. How endlessly I’d thanked God for that and for what that meant to the Church. And since then I’d grown to love, honor and revere Your Holiness with the months and years of being our Papa (in my mother-tongue of Malaysian Dayak Bidayuh, Pope is “Sante Papa”). The gifts which flow through and from Your Holiness will not end with the renunciation of the Petrine Office because those numerous gifts benefiting so many had been flowing even before Your Holiness assumed the Office. Such is Your Holiness’s invaluable contribution to the Life of the Church, as well as to the world. In light of that, I wish Your Holiness an immensely abundant joy and the most serene of time filled with grace throughout Your Holiness’ semi-retirement. I say ‘semi-retirement’ because I think Your Holiness will still continue to work from a humble new desk with the ever blessedly unique disposition and dedication in the utmost capacity, with the combination of much prayers and supplications in love for the whole needy Church as well as for the whole world. And whatever is produced and how many via Your Holiness’ desk in the next phase of life would surely mean more invaluable gifts for the Church and for the world. Permit me now to tell Papa this trivia I’d practiced for many years now: To begin my daily morning prayer, I’d always greet the Heavenly Court as well as the Triumphant Church and the Suffering Church first, followed by a greeting for my three little boy-saints who’d left this world; I’d also include Papa with a “good morning” greeting to wish for Papa to have a good day all throughout the day even as I’d also pray for Papa’s person and intentions; sometimes I’d even remember to wish “good night” at the close of the day. What great joy there is in my spirit each time I do this regardless how small it is. Some may call this my practice cultist, but for me, it’s a devotion in the form of a little silent manifestation of the truth of belonging to God’s entire Family, the Church. Finally, I humbly wish to unite myself with Papa in prayer always especially for the New Pope, without neglecting all the bishops and priests of the Church, as well as for the whole Church in the company of Mary Our Blessed Mother even as we must continue on this trying journey of the mortal life on to the everlasting life to be with God Our Father. All this from a tremendously grateful heart of a child of the Church who loves you, Papa and Leader of this Church for a time, very dearly and will certainly miss your visible presence awfully, Mary Patsy John (a Malaysian currently residing in Houston, Texas, USA)
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[To Jimmy Akin: Thank you very much for giving us this great opportunity to have our voices in words get transported to Papa Benedict. Since you will send this to Papa Benedict “after his departure”, I will address him as such. Also, do feel free to edit the content of this my letter where necessary and appropriate before sending it.] Dear Your Holiness Benedict XVI, Pope Emeritus, I pray Your Holiness is very well in physical health with a heart full of joy and always in high spirit in the lofty mind. I don’t even know where to begin to go further. There are so many things that I want to tell Your Holiness. But let me start by expressing my deepest abundant gratitude for all that you are as well as for all that you give to the Church and to the world even if the world does not recognize it. I also wish to express my long-standing admiration and esteem for Your Holiness ever since my first encounter with Your Holiness when I was still in college some thirty years ago through an article I’d read in a newspaper about Your Holiness’ profoundly brilliant and strong defense of the Catholic Faith when Your Holiness was then Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. I had wished there and then for Your Holiness to become the next Pope in the event of a succession. How tremendously joyful and secure I was feeling deep in my spirit when indeed Your Holiness got elected as Pope in 2005 – in this sense, you are “my Pope”. That was the great consolation after so much tears over the passing of our mighty beloved Papa John Paul II. How endlessly I’d thanked God for that and for what that meant to the Church. And since then I’d grown to love, honor and revere Your Holiness with the months and years of being our Papa (in my mother-tongue of Malaysian Dayak Bidayuh, Pope is “Sante Papa”). The gifts which flow through and from Your Holiness will not end with the renunciation of the Petrine Office because those numerous gifts benefiting so many had been flowing even before Your Holiness assumed the Office. Such is Your Holiness’s invaluable contribution to the Life of the Church, as well as to the world. In light of that, I wish Your Holiness an immensely abundant joy and the most serene of time filled with grace throughout Your Holiness’ semi-retirement. I say ‘semi-retirement’ because I think Your Holiness will still continue to work from a humble new desk with the ever blessedly unique disposition and dedication in the utmost capacity, with the combination of much prayers and supplications in love for the whole needy Church as well as for the whole world. And whatever is produced and how many via Your Holiness’ desk in the next phase of life would surely mean more invaluable gifts for the Church and for the world. Permit me now to tell Papa this trivia I’d practiced for many years now: To begin my daily morning prayer, I’d always greet the Heavenly Court as well as the Triumphant Church and the Suffering Church first, followed by a greeting for my three little boy-saints who’d left this world; I’d also include Papa with a “good morning” greeting to wish for Papa to have a good day all throughout the day even as I’d also pray for Papa’s person and intentions; sometimes I’d even remember to wish “good night” at the close of the day. What great joy there is in my spirit each time I do this regardless how small it is. Some may call this my practice cultist, but for me, it’s a devotion in the form of a little silent manifestation of the truth of belonging to God’s entire Family, the Church. Finally, I humbly wish to unite myself with Papa in prayer always especially for the New Pope, without neglecting all the bishops and priests of the Church, as well as for the whole Church in the company of Mary Our Blessed Mother even as we must continue on this trying journey of the mortal life on to the everlasting life to be with God Our Father. All this from a tremendously grateful heart of a child of the Church who loves you, Papa and Leader of this Church for a time, very dearly and will certainly miss your visible presence awfully: Mary Patsy John (a Malaysian currently residing in Houston, Texas, USA)
Dear Holy Father,
I want to thank you sincerely for your service to the Church. I returned to the Catholic church during your reign and I wonder now if it was your specific prayers that “did the trick”. I have learned a great deal from you through the years and I will truly miss you. I was present at one of the Wednesday audiences in June of 2012 so I am glad I was able to see you once during my life. I was in Rome for the wedding of my dear friend. He was married in St. Peters Basilica! I am excited to see where the church will go and where God will lead me and my family. If you could please pray for my family and specifically my wife Suzanne. God Bless you!
-Dan
Dear Eternal Father in Heaven:
Thank you for your Son and His sacrifice and the mercy and graces that flow from Him. Thank you for the Blessed Virgin Mary for her perfect christian example. Thank you for your Holy Spirit in guiding our Church to have such a holy leader in “his holiness” Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. We were so blessed to have him as our pope and we will surely be blessed to have his continued prayers and sacrifices.
Love, your child in Big Sky Country , Montana (USA),
Michael Helgeson
Dear Holy Father,
I would like to thank you for your service. You have been such an inspiration for me and I am really thankful for all the books you have written. Your “Jesus of Nazareth” series has had the most impact on my spiritual life and I can’t thank you enough. You have been a great shepherd of the Church and I want to thank you overall for your priesthood and your contributions to the Church. Enjoy your retirement and may God bless you abundantly in your retirement.
Sincerely,
Arnold Garcia
Dear Holy Father,
Thank you for your selfless service to the church. You have been an inspiration to me and my family. You will continue to be in our prayers.
Yours in Christ,
Jason Froehlich