President O’Reilly: Please Pray for Pope Benedict XVI

Dear friend,

As we mark the end of 2022, would you please join us at Thomas Aquinas College in praying for our beloved Holy Father, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who died this morning? 

Under the banner of his motto, Cooperatores Veritatis, “Cooperators of the Truth,” Pope Benedict strengthened the faithful in the conviction that the human mind can come to an understanding of reality, to the truth about nature, man, and the God who made them. Through the holiness of his life and the rich treasure of his writings, he taught us that the Truth — who is Christ, the Word of God made flesh — should be at the center of all our learning and all our endeavors. He was an inspiration in the Church and the world — and, in particular, to Thomas Aquinas College. 

As such, Benedict holds a special place in the College’s history. In 2008 he blessed the cornerstone of our California Chapel, Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, at a Wednesday morning audience in the Vatican. And as a token of gratitude, we inlaid a rendering of his coat of arms in the Chapel’s marble floor, just outside the sanctuary.

When His Holiness retired from the papacy in 2013, the members of that year’s graduating class honored him by choosing his words for their class quotation: “The ways of the Lord are not comfortable, but we were not created for comfort. We were created for greatness.”

It is this spirit — the pursuit of our vocational greatness, of sanctity — that animates the mission of Thomas Aquinas College; the work of our students, faculty, and staff; and the labors of our alumni, as they seek to play their part in the Holy Spirit’s plan to renew the face of the earth. 

May the inspiration of Pope Benedict XVI continue to guide us in the new year and for many years to come. May our Heavenly Father welcome our Holy Father into His kingdom!

In Christ,

Paul J. O’Reilly, Ph.D.
President