February 28, 2012. (
Romereports.com) On
Wednesday, February 29th,
Benedict XVI passed
John Paul II in becoming
the sixth oldest pope in
the history of the Church, completing 84 years, 10 months, 2 weeks
and 1 day.
The ranking only looks at the popes elected
since the year 1400, because there are no precise records that existed beforehand. This is according to Anura Guruge, he gathers papal statistics and is the creator of the web page
“Popes and Papacy,” on the history of the popes.
Those pope that were older than Benedict XVI include
Innocent XII and
Pius XI, who both died at
85 years old, Clement X was
86,
Clement XII lived to
87, and topping the list is
Leo XIII, who served as pope until he was
93.
The day may have had an historical significance for the Church, but Benedict XVI passed it quietly making his spiritual retreat in the Vatican.
Despite being
nearly 85 years old, the pope has maintained a busy schedule ever since his election in 2005.
Although he has recently made some
changes to save energy, such as now receiving bishops in a group, and he now crosses St. Peter's Basilica using a
mobile platform to help him support his heavy robes.
Despite holding the sixth place in the list of papal longevity, the pope
continues traveling and making plans for the future.
In
March he will
visit Mexico and Cuba. He's also preparing a
trip to Lebanon in September, and in
2013 he will attend
World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Also, in October, he will open
the Year of the Faith, to remember the Second Vatican Council. It's a year of many ambitious events and ceremonies, the pope is also preparing a document to help explain its importance.
And as the pope spends this anniversary in his spiritual retreat, it shows how nothing passes the time like keeping busy.
JMB/AE
RR
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- MGZ
