SW News: A special evening Mass for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was held on Friday in the Lateran Basilica as believers throughout the world continued to pray for his health.

The Cardinal Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome, Angelo De Donatis, presided over the Holy Mass. Matteo Bruni, the head of the Vatican Press Office, has acknowledged Pope Benedict XVI's health is serious but stable.

Cardinal De Donatis began his sermon by expressing the "affection" and "thanks" of the entire Church of Rome to the Pope Emeritus, noting that the latter "loved (his) Diocese so much and served (it) with altruistic love."

In his reflection on the Gospel of the Solemnity of the Holy Family, the Archpriest of St. John's Basilica drew comparisons between Benedict XVI, whose baptismal name is Joseph, and St. Joseph as he fled Herod with Mary and the infant Jesus. “We like to think – he said - that our Bishop Emeritus is now held by the hand of St. Joseph who helps him to always keep alive God's invitation not to fear,” the prelate said.

In addition, the Cardinal Vicar emphasized Benedict XVI's "great trust in Providence" by saying that as a priest, theologian, bishop, and pope, he "expressed, at the same time, the strength and sweetness of faith, the essentiality, and simplicity of someone who knows that, when you dream with God, dreams come true."

Cardinal De Donatis emphasized that Pope Emeritus is "a sign of the beautiful face of the Church which reflects the light of Christ's face" because of his "tenderness, goodness, humility, meekness, in close connection with Pope Francis."

The Cardinal Vicar quoted Benedict XVI's response to a journalist who inquired about his plans for death to finish his homily. The retired pope retorted: "Meditating and constantly believing that the end is near. I'm attempting to get ready for that situation and, more importantly, to remember it constantly. The most important thing is to live in the understanding that all life leads to this encounter rather than trying to imagine it."