And the Sweet Sistine winner is ….
(RNS) Ladies and gentlemen, the Bishop of the Bracket, the Victorious Vicar, the People’s Pope is ….
Archives
Habemus Papam: Idiot’s Guide to Latin
The new pope’s first name is actually announced in Latin (this is the Vatican, after all), so if you want to be fully prepped, our friends at Catholic News Service have prepared a list of all the cardinals’ names in Latin.
Vatican makes final preparations for papal conclave
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI’s former personal secretary will return to Rome to assist the opening of the papal election in the Sistine Chapel, highlighting the unprecedented situation created by the resignation of a living pope.
What Muslims want in a new pope
(RNS) The selection of the 266th pope comes at a critical juncture in Muslim-Catholic relations, which have been marred by persecution of Christians in the Muslim world, Islamophobia in Western countries and rioting between Muslims and Christians across Africa.
ANALYSIS: The ‘tough guy’ option: Picking a pope to serve as sheriff
VATICAN CITY (RNS) One reason why conservatives are seeking a hard-liner pope is that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger turned out to be more of a papal pussycat as Pope Benedict XVI than the watchdog of orthodoxy that he had been for decades under John Paul II.
Sistine Chapel plays a key role in electing a new pope
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The tradition of voting for the new pontiff in the Sistine Chapel dates back to the Renaissance, but the location of the voting didn’t become a fixed feature of the conclaves until the 19th century — and only with John Paul II’s rules did the Sistine Chapel become the official theater of papal elections.
Cardinal Dolan in Rome: popular if not papabile
ROME (RNS) If ordinary Romans still had in a say in selecting their bishop – also known as the pope – the way they did in the early centuries of the church, then Cardinal Timothy Dolan might already be pontiff.
Sweet Sistine update: The Final Two (Holy) Fathers
(RNS) Our Sweet Sistine Pope Madness tournament is down to its final two bishops. Who will be the People’s Pope, the Bishop of the Bracket, the Victorious Vicar?!?
Vatican goes high-tech to ensure conclave secrecy
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The high-tech defenses the Vatican is deploying for next week’s conclave are so impressive that it will be a miracle if even the Holy Spirit can slip in to the Sistine Chapel to do its job.
Vatican: Conclave to start on Tuesday
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The conclave to pick a new pope will begin on Tuesday, an apparent compromise between cardinals who wanted to get things going and those who wanted more time to size up potential contenders.
