February 11, 2013, Monday — Reflections on Pope Benedict’s Decision to Resign at the End of February
This evening I drove through a nearly empty Vatican city. A cold February rain fell as I went from the Domus Santa Marta, where the cardinals will stay during the upcoming conclave, around the back of the basilica, through the archway just below the Sistine Chapel, where the cardinals will vote in the first days of March, down the narrow brick ramp then out across the Piazza del Belvedere, where the Vatican Library is located, and through the arch toward the Porta Sant’Anna, where two Swiss Guards stood shivering in the drizzle.
At about 6 p.m., a thunderstorm broke over the city, and lightning bolts seemed to strike down against St. Peter’s dome. A bitter cold rain fell in sheets.
It was an odd day, a surreal day, this day of the announcement that Pope Benedict will resign his office… I am still finding it difficult to believe that in 20 days we will no longer have his magisterial teaching, and I am still wondering if we know the full background, all the reasons, for this unexpected decision.
But even as I write these words, I realize that they are not quite accurate.
First, Pope Benedict has not decided to “resign” his office, but to renounce it. The distinction is important. He will not be a “retired Pope,” but he will be, according to Vatican officials I spoke with today, simply “Cardinal Ratzinger” once again. There will be no danger of “two Popes” — this present Pope will no longer be a Pope, not even a retired one. (But even to write that causes me to shake my head a bit at the strangeness of the words.)
Second, the decision was not really “unexpected.” In fact, almost three years ago, in mid-2010, in an article entitled “The Celestine Sign,” I argued that the Pope was giving us a hint that he was considering abdicating his papacy. (Here is a link the the complete article: https://moynihanreport.itvworking.com/from-the-desk-of/the-celestine-sign )
The hint was Benedict’s devotion to Pope Celestine V, who resigned the papacy in 1294.
So we knew already knew three years ago that the Pope might do what he announced this morning, when he announced, in Latin, that he will leave his office on February 28, precisely at 8 pm in the evening.
We knew that he might do it, but no one knew he would do it now, while the Year of Faith is underway, while his promised encyclical on faith is not yet published, and while his campaign for a purification of the Church has not reached a final conclusion. “I thought he might resign, but only at age 90,” a Vatican monisgnor told me this afternoon. (Note: Edward Pentin has reported that the text of the expected encyclical is a “beautiful” text and that Benedict planned to use the encyclical to share his reflections on what it means to be a Christian today, the role of faith in the life of man and society and the value of Christian truths. These will be linked to the “mystery” of Easter, at a time when, in many respects, the world is in crisis. Vatican Insider claims the new encyclical has been getting “rave reviews” from those who have already seen drafts. “The text of the Pope is beautiful,” a senior prelate in the Curia is reported as saying. “With his simple language, Benedict XVI expresses even the most complex and profound truths which are able to reach a diffusion that goes beyond imagination.” But will this encyclical come out before February 28?)
Here is the beginning and end of my article from three years ago:
“The Celestine Sign”
by Robert Moynihan, Inside the Vatican
A little more than a year ago, on April 29, 2009, Benedict did something unusual. He left his own “pallium,” the sign of his episcopal authority and his connection to Christ, on a tomb in Aquila, Italy. The tomb held the remains of a relatively obscure medieval Pope named was Celestine V (1209-1296). (See the photo below; the pallium is the white cloth the Pope is putting on top of the tomb.)
Why?
…I am not suggesting Pope Benedict XVI is thinking of following in the footsteps of the saintly Pope Celestine and resigning.
I am suggesting that the studious Pope Benedict and the studious monk-Pope are “connected” in a mysterious way.
I believe Benedict’s decisions to leave his pallium in Aquila, where Celestine’s tomb is located, and to schedule a prayer before his relics this coming Sunday, are not haphazard.
These decisions are indicators, ways of communicating truths through gestures. They contain a message the Pope cannot deliver any other way.
The Upcoming Conclave
If the Pope leaves office on February 28, the Conclave to elect his successor should begin very soon after that. The 117 cardinals currently eligible to vote should gather in Rome, at the Domus Santa Marta, and, after some time spent together in prayer and discussion, begin to vote for the successor to Pope Benedict XVI. The election should be held in the first days of March. If it goes quickly, a new Pope could be installed before the 10th of March.
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, 79, will be the Senior Cardinal Bishop, performing the duties of the Cardinal Dean (Cardinal Angelo Sodano, 85, the current Dean, and arguable the most powerful cardinal of the past two decades or so, is no longer a Cardinal elector due to reasons of age — the limit for a cardinal to vote is age 80).
Predictably, the media is already presenting the possible names of who the successor will be. But we should be aware that most media outlets claimed, after the death of Pope John Paul II in 2005, that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had no chance. On one prominent list of papabili, he was not even listed.
So one maxim to keep in mind is the old one: “He who enters the Conclave as a Pope, exits as a Cardinal.”
Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, Major Archbishop Emeritus of Kiev (Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church) will miss the conclave, since the Holy See will become vacant two days after his 80th birthday.
Here is a list of the cardinal electors under age 80, with their date of birth, their age, the date they were made a cardinal, and their name and title. In this list, I have bold-faced some of the more well-known names:
Birthdate Age Elevated Name Current Title
1. 21 Sep 1935 77.39 18 Feb 2012 Santos Cardinal Abril y Castelló
Archpriest of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore (St. Mary Major Basilica)
2. 19 Oct 1933 79.31 21 Feb 2001 Geraldo Majella Cardinal Agnelo Archbishop Emeritus of São Salvador da Bahia, Brazil
3. 19 Apr 1945 67.81 18 Feb 2012 George Cardinal Alencherry Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly (Syro-Malabarese), India
4. 8 Jun 1938 74.67 20 Nov 2010 Angelo Cardinal Amato, S.D.B. Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints
5. 23 Aug 1934 78.47 21 Oct 2003 Carlos Cardinal Amigo Vallejo, O.F.M. Archbishop Emeritus of Sevilla (Seville), Spain
6. 18 Nov 1936 76.23 21 Oct 2003 Ennio Cardinal Antonelli President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for the Family
7. 1 Feb 1937 76.03 21 Feb 2001 Audrys Juozas Cardinal Bačkis Archbishop of Vilnius, Lithuania
8. 14 Jan 1943 70.08 24 Nov 2007 Angelo Cardinal Bagnasco Archbishop of Genova (Genoa), Italy
9. 17 Oct 1950 62.32 21 Oct 2003 Philippe Xavier Ignace Cardinal Barbarin Archbishop of Lyon, France
10. 17 Dec 1936 76.15 21 Feb 2001 Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio, S.J. Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina
11. 1 Oct 1942 70.36 18 Feb 2012 Giuseppe Cardinal Bertello President of the Governatorate of Vatican City State
12. 2 Dec 1934 78.19 21 Oct 2003 Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Cardinal Bertone, S.D.B. Secretary of the Secretariat of State
13. 25 Feb 1947 65.96 18 Feb 2012 Giuseppe Cardinal Betori Archbishop of Firenze {Florence}, Italy
14. 20 Mar 1949 63.89 21 Oct 2003 Josip Cardinal Bozanić Archbishop of Zagreb, Croatia
15. 16 Aug 1939 73.49 24 Nov 2007 Seán Baptist Cardinal Brady Archbishop of Armagh, Ireland
16. 24 Apr 1947 65.80 18 Feb 2012 João Cardinal Bráz de Aviz Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
17. 30 Jun 1948 64.61 20 Nov 2010 Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura
18. 1 Jun 1938 74.69 24 Mar 2006 Carlo Cardinal Caffarra Archbishop of Bologna, Italy
19. 3 Feb 1943 70.02 18 Feb 2012 Domenico Cardinal Calcagno President of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See
20. 15 Oct 1945 67.32 24 Mar 2006 Antonio Cardinal Cañizares Llovera Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
21. 28 Dec 1943 69.12 21 Feb 2001 Juan Luis Cardinal Cipriani Thorne Archbishop of Lima, Peru
22. 6 Mar 1938 74.93 18 Feb 2012 Francesco Cardinal Coccopalmerio President of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts
23. 16 Jan 1947 66.07 18 Feb 2012 Thomas Christopher Cardinal Collins Archbishop of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
24. 17 Sep 1943 69.40 24 Nov 2007 Angelo Cardinal Comastri President of the Fabric of St. Peter
25. 5 Sep 1934 78.43 24 Nov 2007 Paul Josef Cardinal Cordes President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum”
26. 15 Feb 1937 75.99 20 Nov 2010 Raymundo Cardinal Damasceno Assis Archbishop of Aparecida, Sao Paulo, Brazil
27. 4 Jun 1933 79.69 2 Feb 1983 Godfried Cardinal Danneels Archbishop Emeritus of Mechelen-Brussel {Malines-Brussels}, Belgium
28. 20 Dec 1934 78.14 26 Nov 1994 Julius Riyadi Cardinal Darmaatmadja, S.J. Archbishop Emeritus of Jakarta, Indonesia
29. 19 Sep 1935 77.39 20 Nov 2010 Velasio Cardinal De Paolis, C.S. President Emeritus of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See
30. 14 Apr 1936 76.83 21 Feb 2001 Ivan Cardinal Dias Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
31. 23 May 1949 63.72 24 Nov 2007 Daniel Nicholas Cardinal DiNardo Archbishop of Galveston-Houston, Texas, USA
32. 6 Feb 1950 63.01 18 Feb 2012 Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan Archbishop of New York, New York, USA
33. 26 Apr 1943 69.79 18 Feb 2012 Dominik Jaroslav Cardinal Duka, O.P. Archbishop of Praha {Prague}, Czech Republic
34. 27 Apr 1939 73.79 24 Mar 2006 Stanisław Cardinal Dziwisz Archbishop of Kraków {Cracow}, Poland
35. 22 Jun 1953 59.64 18 Feb 2012 Willem Jacobus Cardinal Eijk Archbishop of Utrecht, Netherlands
36. 25 Jun 1952 60.63 21 Oct 2003 Péter Cardinal Erdõ Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary
37. 5 Sep 1933 79.43 21 Feb 2001 Francisco Javier Cardinal Errázuriz Ossa Archbishop Emeritus of Santiago de Chile
38. 24 Sep 1933 79.38 24 Nov 2007 Raffaele Cardinal Farina, S.D.B. Archivist Emeritus of the Vatican Secret Archives
39. 15 Apr 1946 66.82 18 Feb 2012 Fernando Cardinal Filoni Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
40. 16 Jan 1937 76.07 21 Feb 1998 Francis Eugene Cardinal George, O.M.I. Archbishop of Chicago, Illinois, USA
41. 24 Dec 1944 68.13 24 Nov 2007 Oswald Cardinal Gracias Archbishop of Bombay, India
42. 11 Oct 1939 73.33 21 Feb 2001 Zenon Cardinal Grocholewski Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education (for Seminaries and Institutes of Study)
43. 20 Oct 1949 63.31 24 Nov 2012 James Michael Cardinal Harvey Archpriest of the Basilica di San Paolo fuori le Mura {Saint Paul Outside-the-Walls Basilica}
44. 8 Aug 1934 78.51 21 Feb 2001 Cláudio Cardinal Hummes, O.F.M. Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Clergy
45. 26 Feb 1933 79.96 21 Feb 2001 Lubomyr Cardinal Husar, M.S.U. Major Archbishop Emeritus of Kyiv-Halyč {Kiev} (Ukrainian), Ukraine
46. 5 Mar 1933 79.93 21 Feb 2001 Walter Cardinal Kasper President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
47. 15 Mar 1950 62.91 20 Nov 2010 Kurt Cardinal Koch President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
48. 3 Jan 1935 78.11 24 Nov 2007 Giovanni Cardinal Lajolo President Emeritus of the Governatorate of Vatican City State
49. 16 May 1936 76.74 21 Feb 2001 Karl Cardinal Lehmann Bishop of Mainz, Germany
50. 15 Jun 1936 76.66 24 Mar 2006 William Joseph Cardinal Levada Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
51. 31 Oct 1936 76.28 28 Jun 1991 Nicolás de Jesús Cardinal López Rodríguez Archbishop of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
52. 27 Feb 1936 76.96 28 Jun 1991 Roger Michael Cardinal Mahony Archbishop Emeritus of Los Angeles, California, USA
53. 29 Apr 1937 75.78 24 Nov 2007 Lluís Cardinal Martínez Sistach Archbishop of Barcelona, Spain
54. 21 Sep 1953 59.39 20 Nov 2010 Reinhard Cardinal Marx Archbishop of München und Freising {Munich}, Germany
55. 25 Dec 1933 79.13 2 Feb 1983 Joachim Cardinal Meisner Archbishop of Köln {Cologne}, Germany
56. 7 Oct 1939 73.34 20 Nov 2010 Laurent Cardinal Monsengwo Pasinya Archbishop of Kinshasa, Congo (Dem. Rep.)
57. 29 Mar1938 74.87 18 Feb2012 Manuel Cardinal Monteiro de Castro Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary
58. 28 May1934 78.70 20 Nov2010 Francesco Cardinal Monterisi Archpriest Emeritus of the Basilica di San Paolo fuori le Mura {Saint Paul Outside-the-Walls Basilica}
59. 7 Mar 1935 77.93 20 Nov 2010 Antonios Cardinal Naguib Patriarch Emeritus of Alexandria {Alessandria} (Coptic), Egypt
60. 8 Mar 1941 71.92 21 Feb 2001 Wilfrid Fox Cardinal Napier, O.F.M. Archbishop of Durban, South Africa
61. 16 Mar 1937 75.90 21 Oct 2003 Attilio Cardinal Nicora President Emeritus of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See
62. 1944 69 24 Nov 2007 John Cardinal Njue Archbishop of Nairobi, Kenya
63. 1 Feb 1950 63.03 20 Nov 2010 Kazimierz Cardinal Nycz Archbishop of Warszawa {Warsaw}, Poland
64. 8 Apr 1939 73.84 18 Feb 2012 Edwin Frederick Cardinal O’Brien Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem
65. 17 Mar 1938 74.90 21 Oct 2003 Keith Michael Patrick Cardinal O’Brien Archbishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh, Scotland, Great Britain
66. 16 Jun 1936 76.65 21 Oct 2003 Anthony Olubunmi Cardinal Okogie Archbishop Emeritus of Lagos, Nigeria
67. 29 Jun 1944 68.62 24 Mar 2006 Sean Patrick Cardinal O’Malley, O.F.M. Cap. Archbishop of Boston, Massachusetts, USA
68. 29 Jan 1944 69.03 24 Nov 2012 John Olorunfemi Cardinal Onaiyekan Archbishop of Abuja, Nigeria
69. 18 Oct 1936 76.31 26 Nov 1994 Jaime Lucas Cardinal Ortega y Alamino Archbishop of San Cristobal de la Habana, Cuba
70. 8 Jun 1944 68.67 21 Oct 2003 Marc Cardinal Ouellet, P.S.S. Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops
71. 15 Nov 1947 65.24 20 Nov 2010 Albert Malcolm Ranjith Cardinal Patabendige Don Archbishop of Colombo, Sri Lanka
72. 8 Jun 1941 71.67 21 Oct 2003 George Cardinal Pell Archbishop of Sydney, Australia
73. 5 Aug 1944 68.52 21 Feb 1998 Polycarp Cardinal Pengo Archbishop of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania
74. 5 Mar 1934 78.93 21 Oct 2003 Jean-Baptiste Cardinal Pham Minh Mân Archbishop of Thành-Phô Hô Chí Minh (Hôchiminh Ville), Viêt Nam
75. 15 Sep 1944 68.41 20 Nov 2010 Mauro Cardinal Piacenza Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy
76. 18 Mar 1933 79.90 21 Feb 2001 Severino Cardinal Poletto Archbishop Emeritus of Torino {Turin}, Italy
77. 26 Feb 1936 76.96 21 Feb 2001 José da Cruz Cardinal Policarpo Patriarch of Lisboa {Lisbon}, Portugal
78. 8 Sep 1945 67.42 26 Nov 1994 Vinko Cardinal Puljic Archbishop of Vrhbosna {Sarajevo}, Bosnia and Herzegovina
79. 25 Feb 1940 72.96 24 Nov 2012 Béchara Boutros Cardinal Raï, O.M.M. Patriarch of Antiochia {Antioch} (Maronite), Lebanon
80. 18 Oct 1942 70.31 20 Nov 2010 Gianfranco Cardinal Ravasi President of the Pontifical Council for Culture
81. 30 Jan 1934 79.03 21 Feb 2001 Giovanni Battista Cardinal Re Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Bishops
82. 26 Sep 1944 68.38 24 Mar 2006 Jean-Pierre Bernard Cardinal Ricard Archbishop of Bordeaux (-Bazas), France
83. 19 Apr 1935 77.81 21 Oct 2003 Justin Francis Cardinal Rigali Archbishop Emeritus of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
84. 6 Jun 1942 70.68 21 Feb 1998 Norberto Cardinal Rivera Carrera Archbishop of México, Federal District
85. 2 Mar 1949 63.94 24 Nov 2007 José Francisco Cardinal Robles Ortega Archbishop of Guadalajara, Jalisco, México
86. 23 Sep 1934 78.38 24 Mar 2006 Franc Cardinal Rodé, C.M. Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
87. 29 Dec 1942 70.12 21 Feb 2001 Oscar Andrés Cardinal Rodríguez Maradiaga, S.D.B. Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras
88. 20 Feb 1938 74.98 20 Nov 2010 Paolo Cardinal Romeo Archbishop of Palermo, Italy
89. 24 Aug 1936 76.46 21 Feb 1998 Antonio María Cardinal Rouco Varela Archbishop of Madrid, Spain
90. 4 Jul 1945 67.60 24 Nov 2007 Stanisław Cardinal Ryłko President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity
91. 22 Sep 1942 70.39 24 Nov 2012 Rubén Cardinal Salazar Gómez Archbishop of Bogotá, Colombia
92. 28 Mar 1933 79.87 26 Nov 1994 Juan Cardinal Sandoval Íñiguez Archbishop Emeritus of Guadalajara, Jalisco, México
93. 18 Nov 1943 69.23 24 Nov 2007 Leonardo Cardinal Sandri Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches
94. 15 Jun 1945 67.66 20 Nov 2010 Robert Cardinal Sarah President of the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum”
95. 1 Sep 1934 78.44 20 Nov 2010 Paolo Cardinal Sardi Vice-Chamberlain Emeritus of the Apostolic Chamber
96. 28 Nov 1936 76.20 24 Nov 2007 Théodore-Adrien Cardinal Sarr Archbishop of Dakar, Senegal
97. 21 Sep 1949 63.39 24 Nov 2007 Odilo Pedro Cardinal Scherer Archbishop of São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
98. 22 Jan 1945 68.05 21 Feb 1998 Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, O.P. Archbishop of Wien {Vienna}, Austria
99. 7 Nov 1941 71.26 21 Oct 2003 Angelo Cardinal Scola Archbishop of Milano {Milan}, Italy
100. 2 Jun 1943 69.69 21 Feb 2001 Crescenzio Cardinal Sepe Archbishop of Napoli {Naples}, Italy
101. 21 Jun 1957 55.64 24 Nov 2012 Luis Antonio Gokim Cardinal Tagle Archbishop of Manila, Philippines
102. 5 Apr 1943 69.85 21 Oct 2003 Jean-Louis Pierre Cardinal Tauran President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue
103. 7 Mar 1936 76.93 21 Feb 2001 Julio Cardinal Terrazas Sandoval, C.SS.R. Archbishop of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
104. 14 Mar 1934 78.91 21 Feb 1998 Dionigi Cardinal Tettamanzi Archbishop Emeritus of Milano {Milan}, Italy
105. 15 Jun 1959 53.66 24 Nov 2012 Baselios Cleemis (Isaac) Cardinal Thottunkal Major Archbishop of Trivandrum (Syro-Malankarese), India
106. 31 Jul1939 73.53 18 Feb2012 John Cardinal Tong Hon Bishop of Hong Kong [Xianggang], China
107. 15 Oct 1939 73.32 21 Oct 2003 Telesphore Placidus Cardinal Toppo Archbishop of Ranchi, India
108. 26 Jun 1936 76.63 26 Nov 1994 Jean-Claude Cardinal Turcotte Archbishop Emeritus of Montréal, Québec, Canada
109. 11 Oct 1948 64.33 21 Oct 2003 Peter Kodwo Appiah Cardinal Turkson President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
110. 28 Aug 1942 70.45 24 Mar 2006 Jorge Liberato Cardinal Urosa Savino Archbishop of Caracas, Santiago de Venezuela
111. 17 Apr 1940 72.82 24 Mar 2006 Agostino Cardinal Vallini Vicar General of Roma {Rome}, Italy
112. 3 Feb 1938 75.02 18 Feb 2012 Antonio Maria Cardinal Vegliò President of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People
113. 1 Jan 1934 79.11 20 Nov 2010 Raúl Eduardo Cardinal Vela Chiriboga Archbishop Emeritus of Quito, Ecuador
114. 30 Jul 1943 69.53 18 Feb 2012 Giuseppe Cardinal Versaldi President of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See
115. 7 Nov 1942 70.26 24 Nov 2007 André Armand Cardinal Vingt-Trois Archbishop of Paris, France
116. 18 Aug 1956 56.48 18 Feb 2012 Rainer Maria Cardinal Woelki Archbishop of Berlin, Germany
117. 12 Nov 1940 72.25 20 Nov 2010 Donald William Cardinal Wuerl Archbishop of Washington, District of Columbia, USA
118. 27 Feb 1941 71.96 21 Oct 2003 Gabriel Cardinal Zubeir Wako Archbishop of Khartoum, Sudan
Cardinals Ranjith and Burke are among those who have publicly celebrated Mass in the extraordinary form, and would be considered “favorable to tradition”; Bagnasco was a disciple of Cardinal Giuseppe Siri of Genoa, who died in 1989. Ouellet, Scola and Piacenza are well-regarded by many. Barbarin, the Archbishop of Lyon in France, has a well-run seminary and a daily Tridentine Mass in Lyon. Piacenza is also a disciple of Siri and has been seen to celebrate Mass in the old rite. He also is very familiar with how the Curia works. At 68, he is comparatively young. Peter Cardinal Turkson, 63, one of the cardinals in the last Conclave who selected Pope Benedict, is regarded as a leading cardinal from Africa. He is President of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace, a position he has held since 2009. He recently called for global public authority and a central world bank in a document regarding the banking industry. On one popular Catholic blog, one commenter wrote: “From my research in Catholic prophecy, it will be Cardinal Comastri, and he will take the name of Pius XIII.”
The Church will begin its celebration of Lent on Wednesday, with Ash Wednesday being celebrated in Rome by Pope Benedict at Santa Sabina on the Aventine Hill, where he will distribute ashes. The Curia will then on Sunday begin a week of Spiritual Exercises in the Vatican preached by Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi. The Pope will then abandon his papal office on February 28, in the middle of Lent, and the Conclave will then occur, still in the middle of Lent.
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