SAN ANTONIO – The former head of the catholic church, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, was honored Wednesday with a special mass at San Fernando Cathedral ahead of his funeral mass in Rome.
“Today, all the bishops of region ten who includes Texas, Arkansas, and Tulsa, we’re going to be here to pray for him,” said Gustavo Garcia-Siller, Archbishop of San Antonio
The Archbishop says they will remember Pope Benedict for his many accomplishments but, more importantly, for his dedication to the doctrine of the faith.
He says he was an introverted man with many qualities, one of them…humility.
“A man of prayer, a man of a very solid understanding of the faith, and a man who had the opportunity to open some issues that he could not resolve,” said Garcia-Siller.
In the pope’s passing, Gustavo-Siller remembers a very personal and important gift from Pope Benedict himself, a pallium. It’s a wool vestment worn around the shoulders given to just archbishops and cardinals.
“I didn’t ask for it, but because of my service here in San Antonio, as Archbishop, he is the one who placed it on me, and so we have a very, very beautiful moment and the homily that day was about his vocation. So, I always treasure that moment,” said Garcia-Siller.
Pope Benedict died on Saturday, December 31st. A funeral mass will take place at the Vatican in Rome on Thursday. For the very first time, a sitting pope presided over mass for his predecessor.
A bilingual mass will be held at 8:00 am at San Fernando Cathedral on Sunday.