Debate. Benedict XVI’s visit to Portugal “bolstered his spirits”
One of the most outstanding moments of the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI was his visit to Portugal, in 2010, and the euphoric reception of the Portuguese to the Holy Father, between Lisbon, Fátima and Porto.
Up for debate this Wednesday at the Renaissancethe vaticanist Aura Miguel, from Rome, says that “the idea that existed about Benedict XVI fell apart in the face of reality” and that the same is happening, at this moment, in the Vatican, with thousands above expectations to be present at the funeral ceremonies by Joseph Ratzinger.
a journalist from Renaissance accompanied the visit of Benedict XVI in 2010 and recalls that the “availability and lucidity” of the Holy Father was revealed, even though the plane had not landed in Portugal.
“He spoke of Pombal and the Enlightenment and that this dialectic between Secularism and Faith cannot be in opposition. The great challenge, he said without having yet landed, was a translation of the relationship between the Church and the State. Fatima’s secret”, he remembers.
Manuel Fernandes Pereira, Portuguese ambassador to the Holy See since October 2010, said after the Holy Father’s visit to Portugal that he “had an excellent impression of Pope Benedict XVI” even before meeting him in person.
“I was very impressed, because all the people I was with told me that the Pope had changed after his visit to Portugal. He had strengthened their spirits. He had liked his Curia a lot”, he highlighted.
The ambassador read on the antenna of the Renaissance words from a letter addressed to you by Benedict XVI, in which the Holy Father referred to “the happy images that I keep in my memory about the visit to Portugal. I never forgot the joy and respect he had for my words”, quoted Manuel Fernandes Pereira .
The diplomat also stressed that Joseph Ratzinger “has always been interested in Portuguese-speaking countries and has always been careful to promote the use of the Portuguese language”.
Also present at the debate was Henrique Mota, editor of Lucerna and the Portuguese-language editor who has published the most books by Benedict XVI and recalled that “there were many problems and negative prognoses” during Ratzinger’s visit to Portugal, but what is certain ” happened in Portugal what is happening now in Rome”.
“Pope Bento’s popularity is much greater than analysts could have imagined. It cannot be said that the visit was indifferent to the Portuguese people”, he considered.
Henrique Mota says that he was “particularly touched” by the encounter with the world of culture, at the CCB, in Lisbon and with what the Pope said in Fátima.
“John Paul II came to thank Our Lady of Fatima, due to the attack he suffered. Pope Benedict XVI came with the pretext of celebrating the beatification of Jacinta and Francisco. There was not the same enormous relationship of miracle. Pope Benedict VI did not have that favorable point. But, in his way of being, he captured the Portuguese. It is said that it was in Portugal that Benedict XVI began to kiss children for the first time.
The editor mentioned that two books will be published to mark the death of Benedict XVI. One will be an anthology of topics examined by the Pope. Another is a book of texts that the Pope published in the magazine “Communio”.
Benedict XVI’s funeral will take place on Thursday in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican, with Pope Francis presiding over the ceremony. The body has been in St. Peter’s Basilica since Monday so that the faithful can say goodbye to the pope emeritus.