Speaking to about 22,000 people gathered in St. Peter's Square, the Holy Father resumed his series of talks on the Church fathers, which he had interrupted during the past two weeks to focus on the liturgical events of Holy Week and the Easter vigil.

St. Benedict, the Pope said, is "the father of western monasticism, who with his life and work exercised a fundamental influence on the development of European civilization and culture." His life and work-- recounted in a biography that was written by Pope Gregory the Great-- helped Europe to emerge from the "dark night of history" that followed the fall of the Roman empire.

Father Yusef Adel was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen in the Iraqi capital. The killing occurred less than 3 weeks after Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Faraj Raho was found dead, after having been kidnapped from outside his cathedral in Mosul.

Syrian Orthodox Bishop Matti Shaba Matoka presided at the funeral for Father Adel, with Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Emmanuel III Delly and the apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Francis Chulikatt, representing the city's Catholic leadership.