Ex-pope to return to Vatican ‘probably’ Thursday
Pope emeritus Benedict XVI will “probably” return to the Vatican on Thursday, a spokesman for the Holy See said, two months after the German pontiff’s resignation stunned the world.
Pope emeritus Benedict XVI will “probably” return to the Vatican on Thursday, a spokesman for the Holy See said, two months after the German pontiff’s resignation stunned the world.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on Tuesday celebrates his 86th birthday as the first former pope in over 700 years at his temporary home of Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer residence near Rome.
Then Pope Benedict XVI was right when he said in February that his then impending depature from the papacy was no flight from the Cross. Proof of this is his continuing crucifixion by critics of the Church and pseudo-fans of Pope Francis. The latter extol the simplicity of the new Pope at the cost of tarnishing the character of the old one. They equate the Pope Emeritus with their own poor notion of the Middle Ages—dark, backward and decadent—and speak as if the saintliness of the new Pontiff is an anomaly among the Successors of Saint Peter.
Pope Francis flew in for an unprecedented encounter with his predecessor Benedict XVI at the papal residence of Castel Gandolfo near Rome — a first in Catholic Church history.
Pope Francis on Friday called for the Roman Catholic Church to “intensify” its dialogue with Islam, echoing hopes in the Muslim world for better ties with the Vatican during his reign.
A Jesuit priest kidnapped and tortured during Argentina’s military dictatorship said he and a fellow abductee priest were not denounced to the rightwing junta by Pope Francis.
Pope Francis was “not complicit” with Argentina’s brutal military dictatorship and pursued a “silent diplomacy,” Nobel Peace Prize laureate Adolfo Perez Esquivel said on Thursday after meeting with Latin America’s first pontiff.
Pope Francis will be installed Tuesday in what is expected to be the biggest papal installation ceremony in history.
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.
What’s it like to get a Jesuit pope?’ A hard question to wake up to, but I have got used to it during the day.
The new Pope issued his first Tweet: “HABEMUS PAPAM FRANCISCUM,” which translates to: “We have Pope Francis.” NBC News reported that the message came only 30 minutes or so of Pope Francis I being named, and was retweeted 25,000 times within 10 minutes.
Habemus Papam! Only after two days of voting, white smoke flowed from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican signaling the successful conclusion of a papal conclave. The 115 cardinals after five balloting have elected Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio, the Buenos Aires-born son of a railway worker. This 76-year old Jesuit now becomes the 266th infallible leader of the 1.2 billion Roman Catholics worldwide taking the name Pope Francis. The Successor of Peter is a sign that despite “rough seas,” Christ did not leave the boat. The Church is guided by the Holy Spirit.
Hopefully the first non-European pope in a thousand years will bring a fresh wind into a church badly in need of renewal. It is not likely he will solve all of its problems. It is enough he will bring in a fresh perspective into its current and most pressing problems.
