Word: pontiffs
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Born Karol Wojtyla in 1920 in a small Polish town near Krakow, the Pontiff led a difficult and often sorrow-filled life: his mother died when he was eight years old, his elder brother died of scarlet fever a little over three years later, and his father succumbed to the ravages of old age before seeing his son enter the priesthood. He narrowly escaped deportation to Germany during the Second World War, and Communist domination forced him to go to an underground seminary. For a long time, his life seemed destined not for greatness, but rather for anonynimity...
...College of Cardinals, whose 117 voting members began to stream into Rome from 52 countries to pay their respects and write the next chapter of the church's history. Later this month they will meet in the Sistine Chapel, already swept for hidden microphones, to choose the next Pontiff. There will be plenty of intrigue in the days to come: "The battles to take care of everyone's own interests have been abounding," a Roman Curia Cardinal told TIME. But in the final days many were struck by the sudden transparency of the Vatican's thick walls. Reports...
...vote guesswork is like nothing so much as handicapping a horse race, and the field is deep but without a clear favorite. Although John Paul personally selected all but three of the 117 voting Cardinals, don't expect a clone of the departed Pontiff. The outcome is often an expression of a pent-up desire to adjust the church's compass, however subtly. That said, the Italian members of the Sacred College had established, before the ascension of the Polish Karol Cardinal Wojtyla in 1978, a 456-year tradition of selecting from among themselves. Though the percentage of electors from...
...religious leader and reflective of his influence on the world. For so many in the world, he is the only Pope they have known. To read TIME's reporting about him over the years, and to follow the funeral and the conclave that will elect the 265th Pontiff, please be sure and visit TIME.com...
...election more than a quarter-century ago proved, there is absolutely no predicting what will occur when the Cardinals gather in the Sistine Chapel beneath the Michelangelo frescoes and devoutly swear to "preserve a scrupulous secrecy regarding everything that relates in any way to the election of the Roman Pontiff." Having pledged, they will get down to their task, filling in their ballots under the words "I elect as Supreme Pontiff." Outside, St. Peter's Square will be filled with pilgrims, gazing up at the chimney, awaiting the puff of white smoke that announces Habemus Papam!: "We have a Pope...