The Vatican has confirmed that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who served as Supreme Pontiff from April 2005 to February 2013, has died aged 95.

Bishop Philip Egan, the Catholic Bishop of Portsmouth, has said:

“It is with deep sorrow that I learned of the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI this morning. The Church has lost an inspirational shepherd. The Pope’s passing is a great loss both for the Catholic community and for humanity as a whole.   During his long and intense life of service as a spiritual leader and statesman, Benedict demonstrated a unique and inspiring moral authority to the world.

I offer my deepest condolences to all Catholics in our Diocese and to those all around the world who have been touched and inspired by his life.”

A Requiem Mass for the repose of the soul of the late Pope Emeritus will be celebrated in St John’s Cathedral, Portsmouth, in the coming days.

Recent Posts

  • The Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth is delighted to announce its annual pilgrimage to Lourdes, taking place from Monday 6th July to Friday 10th July, departing from London Heathrow Airport. Bishop [...]

  • The Portsmouth Bamenda Committee supports the link between Portsmouth Diocese and the Archdiocese of Bamenda which was established over 50 years ago. Members of the committee work with counterparts in [...]

  • Angela Camilleri was until recently a parishioner at Christ the King Reading for over forty years. She has recently relocated from Reading to the Mediterranean island of Malta and shares [...]

  • Bishop Philip writes about his visit to The Marist, Ascot Last Thursday, I made a visitation of the Marist school in Ascot, an independent Catholic girls’ school that offers education [...]