DEATH OF PATRIARCH MAXIM OF BULGARIA

Vatican City, 7 November 2012 (VIS) – The Holy
Father sent a message of condolence to the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox
Church following the death of His Beatitude Maxim, Metropolitan of Sofia and
Patriarch of Bulgaria. “For many years”, writes Benedict XVI, the
deceased “dutifully served the Lord and His people. In the name of the
Catholic Church, I accompany your mourning with my prayers … and, participating
in the mourning of the Orthodox Church in Bulgaria, I give thanks to God for
the good brought by the late Patriarch to his Church and to the people of his
country. In particular, I recall the cordial welcome given to Blessed John Paul
II … in May 2002. I thank the Lord for the good relations the Patriarch
developed with the Catholic Church, … and I hope that this good rapport may
continue to promote the proclamation of the Gospel”.