FORMER pope Benedict XVI died on Saturday, December 31, at the Vatican at the age of 95, after a short period of poor health. He was the 265th pope of the Roman Catholic Church, elected in 2005 but retired in 2013 — the first pope to retire in 600 years. He is mourned all over the world by Catholics and by non-Catholics alike, for his great service to the purification of human reason and the Christian faith.

As a Catholic layman, I tried to follow all his works, follow him physically wherever I could, and in times of doubt and distress, I turned to him as the 'Rock' of my faith.