'A person of profound faith': Benedict memorialized at Mass in Palatine
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was saluted Thursday during a memorial Mass in Palatine as a mild-mannered scholar, a man of God and someone who made history during his lifetime.
The service at St. Theresa Parish - held the same day as Benedict's funeral at the Vatican - was led by the Most Rev. Jeffrey Grob, a bishop with the Archdiocese of Chicago.
About 200 mourners - a mix of civilians, priests and nuns - attended the Mass for Benedict, who died Saturday at 95.
Five similar services were held this week in Chicago, Wilmette, La Grange and Burbank.
A large framed portrait of Benedict, surrounded by flowers, was displayed at the altar inside St. Theresa. The Mass was filled from the start with song as a choir, string and brass musicians, and others guided the attendees through prayers.
The man born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger was named pope in 2005. Grob recalled Benedict as "an intellectual and a person of profound faith."
Benedict "was happiest among the library stacks and wandering the halls of academia," Grob said.
Grob also spoke of Benedict's humanity and his self-awareness - and how that introspection led to his historic resignation in 2013 because of his advanced age.
"Benedict knew well his strengths and his weaknesses," Grob said. "That's grace. That's holiness."
The Mass was livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel, youtube.com/c/StTheresaParishPalatine.