Retired U.S. Cardinal Bernard F. Law, former archbishop of Boston, sits with other cardinals before the start of Pope Benedict XVI’s final general audience on Feb. 27 in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. PHOTO: CNS/Alessandro Bianchi, Reuters

The voting by cardinals to elect the next pope takes place behind the locked doors of the Sistine Chapel, following a highly detailed procedure that underwent major revisions by Blessed John Paul II and a small, but very significant change, by Pope Benedict XVI.

Benedict XVI’s papacy has been one of imagination and urbanity hampered by bureaucracy, writes Tracey Rowland

Around their hometown of Kabba in the state of Kogi, Nigeria, Michael Onaiyekan is known these days not by his own name but as “aburo cardinal,” or brother of the cardinal. He chuckles to consider — but doesn’t dismiss — the notion that within a few weeks his name in Kabba might, just might, become “aburo pope,” brother of the pope.

Pope Benedict XVI’s pontificate was marked by strong ties of friendship and esteem with the leaders of the world’s Orthodox and Anglican Christians, but his papacy also coincided with a difficult time in the search for full Christian unity.

Popes are elected by members of the College of Cardinals, not by the general Catholic population and certainly not by the media. Yet Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan’s presence on practically every journalist’s list of potential next popes bespeaks a real and important influence among his peers.

Since Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation Feb. 11, various commentators on church affairs — and also some church leaders — said that reforming the Roman Curia needs to be a priority of the next pontiff.

Pope Benedict XVI’s disgust over the abuse scandals marring the church was made evident even before his election as pope.

The Clementine Hall is traditionally the place where cardinals bid farewell to popes at the end of a pontificate, but usually when the pope in question is lying in state before his funeral. But on Feb. 28, hours before resigning from the papacy, Pope Benedict XVI briefly addressed the College of Cardinals, calling for unity and harmony among the men who will choose his successor and pledging his “unconditional reverence and obedience” to the next pope.

Benedict XVI, who began his papacy describing himself as a “humble servant in the Lord’s vineyard,” described his retirement as a time of being a “simple pilgrim, who begins the last stage of his pilgrimage on this earth.”