Pope Francis on Sunday underscored his man-of-the-people approach with his first Angelus prayer as pontiff, taking a folksy tone in front of 150,000 enthusiastic pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square.
Pope Benedict XVI was spending his last night in his Vatican apartments Thursday after bidding an emotional farewell to 150,000 pilgrims in St Peter’s Square on the eve of his historic resignation.
The Vatican said Monday that Pope Benedict XVI, who resigns on Thursday, has signed a special decree giving cardinals “the possibility to bring forward” a conclave to elect his successor.
What would appear at first glance to be a cakewalk for a staunch conservative, to follow in the footsteps of Pope Benedict XVI, will be anything but Vatican experts say.
