Statement by Archbishop José H. Gomez

on the Death of the Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI

Statement on the Death of the Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI

Most Reverend José H. Gomez
Archbishop of Los Angeles

December 31, 2022

Our Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has gone to heaven. In this moment, as we mourn his loss, we celebrate his life, because it was a life given in service to Jesus Christ.

I know there will be more for me to reflect on about this beautiful man and great figure in the Catholic Church of our times. But in this moment I find myself giving thanks to God for his witness and recalling the words that he spoke in his inaugural homily: “The purpose of our lives is to reveal God to men. And only where God is seen does life truly begin. … There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ. There is nothing more beautiful than to know Him and to speak to others of our friendship with Him.”

May Our Lady wrap him in the mantle of her love, and may the angels lead him into paradise, and may he rest in peace.