VATICAN CITY (AP) 鈥 Tributes were paid Sunday on the first anniversary of the death of Pope Benedict XVI, with Pope Francis praising his love and wisdom and Benedict's private secretary expressing hope he might one day be declared a saint.
Benedict, the in six centuries, died last Dec. 31 at the age of 95 in the Vatican monastery where he spent 10 years as a pope emeritus. He is buried in the grottoes underneath St. Peter鈥檚 Basilica.
Speaking at the end of his weekly noon blessing, Francis said the faithful feel 鈥渟o much love, so much gratitude, so much admiration鈥 for Benedict. He praised the 鈥渓ove and wisdom鈥 with which Benedict guided the church and asked for a round of applause from the pilgrims and tourists gathered in St. Peter鈥檚 Square.
Earlier in the day, Benedict's longtime secretary, Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, celebrated a special Mass in the basilica and then participated in an anniversary event to reflect on Benedict鈥檚 legacy.
Speaking on the sidelines, Gaenswein acknowledged that surrounded Benedict's decade-long retirement alongside Francis in the Vatican, but said they would be forgotten in favor of the substance of his ministry and his final words: 鈥淟ord, I love you.鈥
History, Gaenswein said, would judge Benedict as a 鈥済reat theologian, a very simple person and a man of deep faith.鈥
Francis frequently praised Benedict鈥檚 decision to retire as courageous and said he, too, might follow in his footsteps. But now that Benedict has died, Francis has reaffirmed the papacy is generally a job for life, and a consensus has emerged that the unprecedented reality of having two popes living side by side in the Vatican before any future pope decides to step down.
Benedict, a noted conservative theologian who spent a quarter-century as the Vatican's doctrine chief, remained a and traditionalists, who have only increased their criticism of Francis in the year since he died. Francis, for his part, has appeared now to feel more free to impose his now he is no longer under Benedict's shadow.
Gaenswein, to his native Germany soon after the death, recalled that Benedict had only expected to live a few months, maybe a year, after his 2013 resignation. Despite his longer-than-expected retirement, Benedict stayed true to his pledge to pray for the church and for his successor, he said.
鈥淚 pray that he will be a saint," Gaenswein said. 鈥淚 wish he would be a saint, and I鈥檓 convinced he will be a saint.鈥
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni also praised Benedict as 鈥渁 great man of history and a giant of reason, faith and the positive synthesis between the two.鈥 In a statement, she said his spiritual and intellectual legacy would live on even among nonbelievers because of its 鈥減rofound civic value鈥 and ability to speak to people's minds and hearts.
