At the Cathedral of Our Lady of Walsingham in Houston, Texas, Bishop Steven J. Lopes spoke at a Requiem Mass for Benedict XVI.
The pope emeritus, born Joseph A. Ratzinger in 1927, died on Dec. 31, 2022. He served as the Bishop of Rome and the Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church from 2005 until his resignation in 2013.
In 2009, in response to repeated requests from Anglican clergy and faith communities to reunite with the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict authorized the creation of special ordinariates (similar to dioceses) that are permitted to celebrate the Mass and other Catholic liturgies in a manner that reflects elements of Anglican heritage.
During most of the years of Pope Benedict's tenure, the future Bishop Lopes was an official of the Holy See's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, serving as a personal aide to the Congregation's prefect, Cardinal William Levada.