WORCESTER, Mass. - When looking back at his time with Pope Benedict XVI, Worcester Bishop Robert McManus said it was like being in the presence of a grandfather. 

"Very kindly, very gentlemanly," McManus said. "But when he spoke, everybody listened."

McManus vividly remembers the moment Pope Benedict XVI was elected to the papacy.

"I was sitting on the edge of the bed, and when they named him as the new pope, I literally jumped off the bed and started to clap all by myself in my hotel room," McManus recalled.

McManus' relationship with the late pope goes back to the mid 1980s, when he was still Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. McManus was a young priest studying theology in Rome at the time when he had his first interaction with him.

"He listened to our papers, and responded to us after," McManus said. "And again, in a very complimentary way."

McManus would go on to meet with Pope Benedict XVI numerous times in the 30-plus years to follow. Having reflected on his death over the last few days, McManus described the pope as a brilliant, holy man.

"The great contribution he made to the church was no matter the consequences, if something is true, you must defend it," said McManus.

Benedict was the first pontiff to resign from the position in more than 600 years. So, it will be a rare occasion when a sitting pope celebrates the funeral mass for his predecessor.

McManus said while sad, it's also extraordinary, and brings up the question: Should popes always need to hold the position until they die?

"In a time when people are living longer and longer because of pharmaceuticals and good medicine, maybe the time has come when men who who have been elected pope under the guidance of the holy spirit for the church, if they physically and mentally feel that they cannot do this for the sake of the church, they would resign," McManus said.

McManus acknowledged there have been criticisms of the late pope, particularly on his handling of sexual abuse cases. But as the world prepares to say goodbye, he believes Benedict's legacy of faith will live on forever.

"I think as long as the church lasts, that his memory and contributions to life in the church will be well remembered," McManus said.

Locally, there will be a mass for Pope Benedict Thursday at 12:10 p.m. at St. Paul's Cathedral in downtown Worcester.