Among the more than 50,000 people in St. Peter’s Square Jan. 5 for the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori, who said the subdued nature of the liturgy was at the request of the retired pontiff, the first to resign the papacy in more than 600 years.

“I can tell you the shock was palpable,” Bishop Parker remembered. “After Pope Benedict left the room, having given us his blessing, the cardinals simply stood in stunned silence. No one knew what to say or what to do, or what would happen next, given that this hadn’t happened for so many centuries.”

Sister Mary Barbara Campbell, a member of Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, died Dec. 29 in Scranton, Pa. Sister Mary Barbara, formerly known as Sister Mary Josella, was 95.

The funeral Mass for Pope Benedict XVI, who died Dec. 31 at the age of 95, will be held Jan. 5 at St. Peter’s Square with Pope Francis as presider. The Mass is scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m. Rome time, which is 3:30 a.m. Eastern.

The Holy Family holds lessons for all of us about how to pray, how to trust in God and live in love.

With the support of Archbishop William E. Lori and parishioners of Ss. Philip and James, Father Michael Weibley converted a chapel formerly used for daily Mass into a new adoration chapel. Daily Mass moved to the main church during the coronavirus pandemic.

An 11 a.m. funeral Mass for Christian Brother William Fealy will be offered Jan. 2 at McManus Theatre at Calvert Hall College High School in Towson. Brother William died at University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson Dec. 26. He was 80.

Responding to the Dec. 31 death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Archbishop William E. Lori said he gives thanks for the “life, witness, and ministry of this ‘humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord.'”

The last three archbishops of Baltimore have all had connections to Pope Benedict XVI, who died Dec. 31.

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