Special Hawaii Mass Planned for Pope Benedict XVI

File photo by Wendy Osher.

By Wendy Osher

A special mass of thanksgiving for Pope Benedict XVI will be held in Honolulu tonight at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace.

The service is to give thanks for the Petrine ministry of Pope Benedict XVI, who will leave office tomorrow.

Bishop Larry Silva said prayer will also be made for guidance on the cardinals who will elect the pope’s successor.

Pope Benedict XVI announced his plans to step down as head of the Catholic Church, effective on Feb. 28, citing his advanced age.

In his announcement on Feb. 11, Pope Benedict issued a statement saying, “Dear Brothers, I thank you most sincerely for all the love and work with which you have supported me in my ministry and I ask pardon for all my defects.”

He continued, saying, “And now, let us entrust the Holy Church to the care of Our Supreme Pastor, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and implore his holy Mother Mary, so that she may assist the Cardinal Fathers with her maternal solicitude, in electing a new Supreme Pontiff. With regard to myself, I wish to also devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer.”