Pope Benedict XVI’s final trip as pope was a 15-minute helicopter ride from the Vatican to the papal summer villa at Castel Gandolfo.
After Pope Benedict XVI left the Vatican and began the last hours of his papacy, Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago told reporters he already was considering the qualities of certain cardinals and what kinds of pope they would make.
Admitting these are unusual times, not only for the Church but for himself, Pope focuses on Lent – seeking prayers for self and successor
Here are the edited remarks of Pope Benedict XVI in his annual address to to the clergy of Rome on February 14. In his talk, Pope Benedict recalled for priests, many of whom were not alive at the time, what it was like being at and participating in the landmark event of the modern Church, the Second Vatican Council. It seemed like his way of saying goodbye …
Pope’s talk inspires renewed enthusiasm for Vatican II, evangelization.
On Feb. 14, in one of the last public appearances of his pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI spoke to the clergy of Rome about his experiences at the Second Vatican Council, which he had attended as an expert consultant half a century before.
If numbers were used to choose the next pope, he might come from Latin America, which is home to the countries with the two largest Catholic populations.
Pope Benedict XVI has ordered several changes to the Masses and liturgies that will mark the inauguration of the next pope’s pontificate.
The pope’s @Pontifex Twitter fans will get two more tweets before the account goes into “hibernation” during the “sede vacante” period starting when Pope Benedict XVI steps down.
When Pope Benedict XVI officially leaves office at 8 p.m. Feb. 28, most of the top-level Vatican officials lose their jobs, but that does not mean the majority of Vatican employees get a vacation.