Pope Resigns, What happens next?

As you may have gathered reading here and on the Faith tab, we are a Catholic family.

It was quite shocking to wake up this morning to news the Pope had resigned! This just… doesn’t happen! It hasn’t happened since before the printing press was invented!

So what happens next?

Popes are elected for life, but they can quit. When the office of Pope is left vacant, the cardinals will convene to choose a new one (just as they did when Pope John Paul II died). They do this by ballot. It will probably take about a month, so we should have a new Pontiff by the end of March (this is my personal guess.)

While Popes are elected for life, generally the Papal Conclave (when the College of Cardinals all meet to elect a new one) choose a man known for his holiness and wisdom- generally an older bishop. Pope John Paul II held the office for 27 years, from 1978-2005 which is unusually long. The shortest tenure was Pope Urban VII who was Pope for less than two weeks in 1590.

How do we get a new Pope?

Basically, they lock all of the cardinals in the Sistine Chapel and don’t let them out until a Pope is elected. They get bread and water and not much else!

Why Did Benedict XVI Leave Now?

Lent begins with Ash Wednesday in just a few days- Feb. 13. Lent is the 40 days before Easter, traditionally a time of prayer and fasting in the Church. Easter is our biggest liturgical Holy Day.

It’s shocking that he would leave during Lent, but then again the Easter Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday) are the most physically grueling time for our priests and bishops, so I can understand why he would resign now in order to allow his successor to elected before Easter.

It takes a loving and humble man to admit he can’t do the job as well as someone could, and to step aside entirely in order to let someone healthier take on the task. The Holy Father has realized he can’t guide the modern Church well with his frail health and is willing to give up everything for the sake of the Church’s well being.

Pope Benedict XVI was the 266th Pope, you can read the line of Popes here, starting with St. Peter.

I know the news cycle is going to go wild with all of this. If you would like to ask a question about the whole Pope business of a friendly Catholic, I encourage you to ask in the comments. {Please be respectful, but you guys never disappoint me on that. I have classy readers!}

Catholics, what are your thoughts?

Jennifer February 11, 2013 10:18 am edit
He is siting his heath as a reason, but this seems to be such a quick announcement… not a “Please find a replacement and I will keep working until you do.” Do you have a theory as to why it is so quick and out of the blue?

- Milehimama February 11, 2013 10:41 am edit
  I think the timing is clever.
  1) The media generally spends the 40 days of Lent with stories that make Catholics look crazy or trying to disprove the Catholic faith- i.e., uncovering evidence that Mary Magdalene was Jesus’s wife, or James Ossuary, etc. This pre-empts that conversation.
  
  2) He won’t have to go through all of the Easter services which are lengthy and taxing (health reasons)
  
  3) By resigning at the beginning of Lent, it is the best chance of a successor being in place by Easter
  
  4) He gives us another dimension, spiritually, for Lent.
  
  5) No one expected it! No one’s had time to form alliances or push their candidate to the front, there’s no time for plotting and intrigue which hopefully will result in a more upright election. There’s no time for media to research everyone and pick their favorite and start pressuring for a particular candidate- no time for the cardinals to do that either.
  
Birdie February 11, 2013 1:10 pm edit
This was certainly a surprise. I’ll be praying for a smooth transition for his successor.

Kara W. February 12, 2013 12:28 am edit
This is going to sound strange, but what will the current pope do after his resignation? And what will he be called? Will he go back to using his (looking for a better term here….) civillian name? Or will he keep his papal one?

I have more, but I’ll just burden you with a few impertinent questions at a time.

- Milehimama February 12, 2013 1:31 am edit
  Now that I honestly don’t know! There’s not much precedent. I suspect that he’d go back to Cardinal Ratzinger and retire, living at the Vatican. The last Pope to freely resign was 1000 years ago, and he retired to solitude (to the Celestine order, which he founded.) Pope Benedict XVI isn’t part of an order, so I think he’d stick around Rome unless sent somewhere (doubtful because of his age or health). I would certainly hope he writes more books though.
  
  - Celina February 13, 2013 1:19 pm edit
    He goes back to cardinal ratzinger…and retires at a monestary in st- peters I believe
    
Baroness Black February 13, 2013 11:34 am edit
Someone who had been to Rome recently did mention that His Holiness was not looking well. Apparently he’s been using a cane to walk, a mobile stage during large services, etc. so I get the feeling his health has been declining rapidly. Yes, he will return to being Cardinal Ratzinger. And I hope, if his health bears up, he will continue with his inter-faith work. Anyway, here’s a link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21440743

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