This is truly a wonderful, historic story. The meeting of two Popes:
Pope Francis and his predecessor Benedict embraced today in a historic meeting of two popes at Castel Gandolfo.
The men met on the helipad at the papal summer retreat, before praying together in the chapel.
Benedict offered Francis the kneeler traditionally used by the pope when he prays.
But Francis refused to take it alone, saying ‘We’re brothers’, and the two used a different kneeler in the pews and prayed together, side-by-side.
1. This shows the grace of Benedict.
2. It shows again the “motif” of the new Pope that is now being seen on so many fronts.
Benedict made clear that he deferred to Francis as pope while Francis made clear he considered his predecessor to be a revered brother and equal.
Today’s meeting is the first between two popes in more than 600 years as the Catholic Church finds itself in the unusual position of having two alive at the same time.
Traveling from the helipad to the palazzo, Francis sat on the right-hand side of the car, the traditional place of the pope, while Benedict sat on the left.Francis brought a gift to Benedict, an icon of the Madonna, and told him that it is known as the ‘Madonna of Humility.
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‘I thought of you,’ Francis told him as he presented the gift.‘You gave us so many signs of humility and gentleness in your pontificate.’
Benedict replied: ‘Grazie, grazie.’Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi said he understands Benedict reiterated his pledge of obedience to the new pope, while Francis thanked Benedict for his ministry.
He said they both wore white, though Benedict was in a simple cassock and a quilted white jacket without the traditional sash and cape worn by Francis.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.