Holy Father Pope Francis while celebrating his successful and graceful journey of being the Supreme Pontiff, received an extraordinary compliment from his predecessor Retired Pope Benedict XVI that made the occasion more special. Retired Pope Benedict XVI has publicly dismissed as “foolish prejudice” those who say Francis has no theological heft and represents a rupture from his own papacy.
The occasion was the release of a new volume of Vatican-curated books on “The Theology of Pope Francis,” published as Francis marks his fifth anniversary. As reported by voanews.com, Benedict XVI wrote a letter saying about the volume that “It shows Pope Francis is a man of profound philosophical and theological training and helps to see the interior continuity between the two pontificates, with all the differences in style and temperament.”
The papal conclave of 2013 was convened to elect a Pope to succeed Pope Benedict XVI following his resignation on 28 February 2013. After the 115 participating cardinal electors gathered, they set 12 March 2013 as the beginning of the conclave. White smoke was seen emanating from the Sistine Chapel chimney on 13 March at 19:06 (7:06 PM) local time, following the fifth ballot, and the bells began pealing minutes after, signifying the election of a new pope. The conclave elected His Eminence Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio SJ, then Archbishop of Buenos Aires, as pope. He took the Pontifical name of Francis (Pope Francis).
