The Pope of Mercy, the Pope of Hope
By Fr. Casmir Odundo We were in first year of theology, an ordinary afternoon in class. Latin lesson with Fr. Anselm Kamuyu. The kind of day you barely notice until something unforgettable slips into it. We were just stepping out of class when the news came—Pope Benedict XVI had resigned. It was 11 February 2013, a Monday. The first pope to resign in nearly 600 years. The last one had been Gregory XII in 1415, stepping down to heal the schism in the Church. And now, Benedict—this humble Bavarian theologian—had done the same, citing lack of strength of mind and body. The world held its breath. Then came the conclave. That word— conclave —from Latin cum clave , meaning "with a key," evokes the ancient custom: the cardinals locked away, key turned, until they chose a pope. It is a tradition from the 13th century, formalised after delays in electing a new pontiff. The electors are cardinals, each one a titular pastor of a Roman church, still preserving the link with the clergy an...