SW News: In Warsaw, there has been a national Mass of Thanksgiving commemorating Pope Benedict XVI's life and pontificate. Salvatore Pennacchio, the Apostolic Nuncio, led the ceremony where there were around 50 bishops from different parts of Poland among the attendees.

Pope Benedict XVI was one of the most distinguished theologians of the 20th century, and a magnificent testimony to the faith, according to Archbishop Stanisaw Gdecki, president of the Polish Bishops' Conference, who delivered the sermon.

“Benedict XVI loved Christ with all his life. He was attentive to truth and knew that it was the foundation of all other Gospel values. He was a great contemporary theologian and witness to the faith," said Archbishop Gądecki.

As a priest, theologian, and later as the leader of the Catholic Church, Benedict XVI was a collaborator of truth and a master of catechesis and liturgy, said Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio.

He placed a strong emphasis on his support for the institution of marriage as being inseparable, the development of interreligious understanding, the purging of the Church of the crimes of child sex abuse, and his teachings regarding the role and accountability of the laity in political life.

Meanwhile, the diocesan community continues to pray for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. A Holy Mass will be held for Pope Emeritus on Thursday, January 12, at 7 pm, in the Basilica of St. John Lateran, which will be presided over by the cardinal vicar Angelo De Donatis.