Retiring pope faces uncharted territory
Vatican City.
Copyright Getty Images
Posted: 02/13/2013
VATICAN CITY - For months, construction crews have been renovating a four-story building attached to a monastery on the northern edge of the Vatican gardens where nuns would live for a few years at a time in cloister. Only a handful of Vatican officials knew it would one day be Pope Benedict XVI's retirement home.
The renovation deadline became more critical following Benedict's decision to quit on Feb. 28 and live his remaining days in prayer.
From a new name to this new home to the unprecedented reality of having two living popes, Benedict is facing uncharted territory as he becomes the first pontiff in six centuries to retire. His papal ring will be destroyed, along with other powerful emblems of authority, just as they are after a papal death.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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