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• Pope blesses huge crowd in St. Peter's Square
• Cardinals seek identikit for new pope
• Pope, near abdication, says pray "for me and next pope"
• Cardinal says Latin American or African pope possible
• Pope blesses faithful at St. Peter's Square for first time since resignation announcement
• Tourists, Romans seek piece of history at pope's Sunday prayer
• Pope blesses thousands at St. Peter's Square
• Pope makes first St. Peter's Square window appearance since resignation announcement
• Crowds gather for pope's Sunday blessing

Pope blesses huge crowd in St. Peter's Square Posted: 17 Feb 2013 02:52 PM PST VATICAN CITY (AP) — His arms outstretched in a symbolic embrace, Pope Benedict XVI blessed tens of thousands of cheering people on Sunday in one of his last appearances as pontiff from his window overlooking St. Peter's Square.

Cardinals seek identikit for new pope Posted: 17 Feb 2013 10:29 AM PST VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - After Pope Benedict's papacy of almost eight years, the cardinals who will elect the next Catholic pontiff are more European, more conservative and more "Roman" than the conclave that chose him in 2005. Benedict has hand picked more than half the men who will elect his successor. The rest were chosen by the late Pope John Paul, a Pole with whom the German pope shared a determination to reassert a more orthodox Catholicism in the new millennium. ...

Pope, near abdication, says pray "for me and next pope" Posted: 17 Feb 2013 09:58 AM PST VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict asked the faithful to pray for him and for the next pope, in his penultimate Sunday address to a crowded St. Peter's Square before becoming the first pontiff in centuries to resign. The crowd chanted "Long live the pope!," waved banners and broke into sustained applause as he spoke from his window. The 85-year-old Benedict, who will abdicate on February 28, thanked them in several languages. Speaking in Spanish, he told the crowd which the Vatican said numbered more than 50,000: "I beg you to continue praying for me and for the next pope". ...

Cardinal says Latin American or African pope possible Posted: 17 Feb 2013 07:59 AM PST VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Cardinal Kurt Koch, a close aide of Pope Benedict who will cast his vote for the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church, says there is no reason why the new pontiff cannot be African or Latin American. Koch, head of the Vatican department that deals with Christian unity and relations with Jews, also said he had had no doubt that Pope Benedict would resign rather than rule for life, and said that future popes would be free to do the same. "The challenges of the Church in the world are very different on different continents: in Africa, in Asia, in Latin America. ...

Pope blesses faithful at St. Peter's Square for first time since resignation announcement Posted: 17 Feb 2013 07:28 AM PST VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI blessed the faithful from his window overlooking St. Peter's Square for the first time since announcing his resignation, cheered by an emotional crowd of tens of thousands of well-wishers from around the world.

Tourists, Romans seek piece of history at pope's Sunday prayer Posted: 17 Feb 2013 07:23 AM PST VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Foreign tourists and Romans packed into St. Peter's Square on Sunday for one of the last chances in history to see Pope Benedict, whose resignation caused more surprise than sadness. "I was just excited that we were going to get to see him before he resigned, and thought it would be cool to be in Rome with something like that happening," said Shea Wild, an American student who had planned the trip before Benedict's shock decision to step down. ...

Pope blesses thousands at St. Peter's Square Posted: 17 Feb 2013 04:05 AM PST VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI blessed the faithful from his window overlooking St. Peter's Square for the first time since announcing his resignation, cheered by an emotional crowd of tens of thousands of well-wishers from around the world.

Pope makes first St. Peter's Square window appearance since resignation announcement Posted: 17 Feb 2013 03:02 AM PST Pope makes first St. Peter's Square window appearance since resignation announcement.

Crowds gather for pope's Sunday blessing Posted: 17 Feb 2013 02:37 AM PST VATICAN CITY (AP) — Crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square for Pope Benedict XVI's first Sunday window blessing since his stunning retirement announcement, and the second-to-last before he leaves the papacy.

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