A bishop in Brazil has published a prayer for private devotion to Pope Benedict XVI, who passed away on December 31st, 2022 at the age of 95.
Bishop Carlos Rossi Keller, from the Diocese of Frederico Westphalen in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, has published the prayer in Portuguese, Spanish, French and Italian.
In a post on his Facebook page, Bishop Keller said:
“As children of the Church, we must pray and ask God for his eternal rest in heaven. But as testimonies of his generous dedication to God and knowing that his last words were ‘Lord, I love you,’ we can also privately ask for his intercession.”
He also emphasized that the prayer is intended for private use only and should not be used in public worship.
The text of the prayer is as follows:
“Eternal and Almighty God, who inspired in the heart of your servant Pope Benedict XVI the sincere desire to encounter you and announce you, becoming a humble āco-operator with the truthā and offering himself as a servant, for Christ and for the Church, make me also know how to love the Church of Christ and to be able to follow in my life the eternal truths that she proclaims. Deign, Lord, to glorify your servant, Pope Benedict XVI, and grant, through his intercession, the favor I now ask of you (mention your petition). Amen.
Pray an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be.”
Pray for Pope Benedict XVI!
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Why would I pray *for* a pope who has died?
Isn’t his battle over?