DEATH OF PATRIARCH MAXIM OF BULGARIA

Vatican City,  (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".