Catholic Archbishop of Onitsha and Metropolitan Onitsha Ecclesiastical Province, His Grace, Most Reverend Valerian Maduka Okeke, has paid tribute to the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
In a tribute which was made available to journalists in Onitsha, Anambra State and signed by Archbishop Valerian Okeke, he said, “The news of the demise of our beloved Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI came with mixture of sorrow and joy. It came with a profound pain of loss of such a great treasure of the Church and humanity at large. Yet the news fills one with a certain sense of peace and inner tranquility at the passing on to glory of this Holy, simple, outstanding intelligent and humble servant of God who deployed his time, talent and intellectual treasure to serving God and His Church without reserve.”
He also said that the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was a man of deep faith, legendary intellectual capacity and child-like tenderness, adding that he taught and lived the authentic Catholic faith through his preachings, lectures, writings and public engagements.
“With the gifts of longevity, the late Pope Emeritus devotedly acted as a bulwark that protected the Catholic faith received from apostles.
“I cherished the moment of all my encounter with him and I wish him a safe journey and eternal repose in the bosom of the Father. Together with my auxiliary Bishop, the clergies, the religious and the lay faithful of the Catholic Archdiocese of Onitsha, I assure the Holy Father of our prayers”, Archbishop Okeke concluded.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was confirmed dead at his residence, Vatican in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, aged 95 after almost a decades he stood down because of ailing health.
