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Search Results for: pope
Cardinals Prepare To Vote for Pope
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Chanting the Litany of the Saints, asking a host of holy men and women to help them, the cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel in procession, aware of their enormous responsibility to elect a new pope. Less than half of the 117 cardinals eligible to vote for a successor to Pope Benedict […]
Great Getting to Know Pope Benedict XVI
I was in the presence of Pope Benedict XVI three times, twice while he was pope and once before he was chosen to lead the Catholic Church. In 1986, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger came to Manhattan to make a philosophical presentation at a Lutheran church. He was considered a controversial figure because he was the head […]
Will One of These Men Be Next Pope?
by Cindy Wooden and Francis X. Rocca VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Wherever journalists and bookmakers may be getting the names on their lists of top candidates for the next pope, it’s not from the cardinals who will actually vote in the election. Both custom and canon law forbid the cardinals to discuss the matter in […]
The Next Pope – Here’s What the Cardinals Will Be Looking for as They Enter the Conclave
by Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) – One task facing the College of Cardinals already has been completed: A job description for the Catholic Church’s chief evangelizer already is written. He must be humble, but firmly grounded in Church teaching; joyful and enthusiastic; willing to listen to and dialogue with others; and courageous in defending […]
Pope Will Serve Church Through Prayer
by Francis X. Rocca VATICAN CITY (CNS) – In one of his last public appearances, Pope Benedict XVI told an overflow crowd in St. Peter’s Square Feb. 24 that his upcoming retirement does not mean he is abandoning the Church, but that he will be serving it in a new way, through prayer and meditation. […]
Factoids about Popes’ Ages and Nationalities
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – When Pope Benedict XVI, 85, announced his resignation, he said that “both strength of mind and body are necessary” to carry out the papal ministry in the modern world. He was elected in 2005, just after his 78th birthday. Of the 102 popes whose exact age at election is known, Pope […]
Pope Benedict Leads by Example
by Father William Byron, S.J. When Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope in 2005 at age 78, I was working at Loyola College (now Loyola University) in Baltimore. A local radio announcer, who was on the air during the late afternoon commute, telephoned me to discuss this breaking news with him on the air. “He’s a […]
Pope Delivers Personal, Emotional Farewell Address at Audience
by Francis X. Rocca VATICAN CITY (CNS) — On his last full day as pope, Pope Benedict XVI delivered an unusually personal and emotional farewell address, thanking the faithful around the world for their support and assuring them that he would remain in their service even in retirement. “I will continue to accompany the […]
Pope Exhausted – Papal Biographer Says Benedict Also May Have Been Disheartened
by Jonathon Luxemoore OXFORD, England (CNS) – Pope Benedict XVI was “exhausted and disheartened” well before his Feb. 11 resignation announcement, according to his German biographer, Peter Seewald. In an article, “Farewell to my pope,” in the Feb. 18 issue of Germany’s Focus weekly, Seewald said he had held several Vatican meetings with the 85-year-old […]