Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican Press Office from 2006 to 2016, said that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is ready for “the definitive encounter” with God.
The Jesuit priest made the observation in an interview with Avvenire, the newspaper of the Italian bishops, on the occasion of his upcoming 80th birthday, which he will celebrate on 29 August.
In the interview published on 22 August, the priest, who was also provincial superior of the Italian Jesuits and director of the Vatican Television Centre, recalled that he was able to accompany Benedict XVI “for almost his entire pontificate from 2006 until his resignation from the Petrine ministry in February of 2013″.
Lombardi stressed that Benedict XVI “is a scholarly man” and would define him as “a pope theologian with very clear ideas”.