When our Pope took the name Benedict: Part 1 , Spotlight Saint Benedict
In an effort to look ahead to the day the Church remembers Saint Benedict on July
11th, as well as to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Pope Benedict's ordination
to the priesthood Veronica Scarisbrick takes a look back at two men from whom
The Holy Father has drawn inspiration during his priestly life , a saint and a pope.As Benedict XVI himself mentioned at the beginning of his pontificate :
"..I wish to reiterate the steadfast resolve of the Holy See to continue serving the cause of peace.The very name Benedict which I chose on the day of my assignment to the Chair of Peter is a sign of my personal commitment to peace. In taking this name I wanted to evoke the Patron Saint of Europe who inspired civilization of peace on the whole continent and Pope Benedict XV who condemned the First World War as a useless slaughter and worked for a universal acknowledgement of the lofty demands of peace..."
Veronica begins today by focusing on the figure of Saint Benedict. She does so with the Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Confederation, Notker Wolf who happens to be a fellow Bavarian.
The Abbot shares with us his reaction to the Holy Father's choice when he took the name Benedict and tells us how the young Joseph Ratzinger once contempated becoming a Benedictine:
"...he knows the Benedictines quite well from Bavaria. In Bavaria we have seventeen Benedictine monasteries...the whole of the Bavarian mentality throughout the centuries has been marked by the Benedictine charism...and Pope Benedict XVI as a young man was thinking of joining a Benedictine monastery ...he loves the Rule of St Benedict .... he's surely continuing along the lines of Pope John Paul II, the fight for a Europe of values. It was on the 24th of October in 1964 that Paul VI had proclaimed at Montecassino Benedict Patron Saint of Europe ..."
Listen to Paul VI on that occasion and to more comments regarding the Holy Father and Saint Benedict on the part of Abbot Notker Wolf.
Listen :
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