VATICAN CITY
Chicago Sun-Times
Emily McFarlan Miller
Two years ago today, Pope Benedict XVI announced before a gathering of cardinals he would step down as pope at the end of the month.
Seated on a gold throne, wrapped in a red, fur-lined cape, Benedict sounded tired as he noted his “advanced age” and deteriorating strength, as well as “rapid changes” in a world “shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith.”
“For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the cardinals,” he said in Latin.
A cameraman put his hand to his mouth.
A cardinal began to sob.
And then there was silence, according to an eyewitness account published last year in the Catholic Herald.
It was the first time a pope voluntarily had left the papacy in nearly 600 years.
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