VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI stunned the world when he announced his resignation in 2013, the first in 600 years. That led some to wonder if, as he grew increasingly frail and sick, Pope Francis would follow that precedent.
While Francis kept open the possibility, and even had a resignation letter prepared, he said more recently that he believed that the papacy was for life. And he ultimately lived out that belief, serving in his ministry until his death on Monday, at the age of 88.
Benedict, even before his resignation, he had argued that a pontiff should step aside if he got too old or infirm to do the role. It was nonetheless a shock when he announced in Latin that his “strength of mind and body” had diminished and that he couldn’t carry on.
His dramatic exit paved the way for Francis’ election and created the unprecedented arrangement of two popes living side-by-side, with Benedict in a converted monastery in the Vatican gardens until his death on Dec. 31, 2022.
In his 2024 memoir, “Life: My Story Through History,” Francis recounted how, when he was still the archbishop of Buenos Aires, he thought he had misunderstood the news when he first learned about Benedict’s resignation.
“For a moment I was paralyzed. I could hardly believe what I was hearing,” Francis wrote. “This was news I had never expected to receive in my lifetime: the resignation of a pope was unimaginable, although it was provided for in canon law."
But he said he realized that Benedict would have meditated and prayed for a long time before coming to that “brave and historic decision.”
During the decade they lived together in the Vatican as a reigning and “emeritus pope,” Francis repeatedly praised Benedict’s courage and humility for resigning and said that he had “opened the door” to future popes also stepping down.
But after Benedict died, Francis' changed course. While confirming he had a resignation letter prepared in case he became medically incapacitated, he pointed to the risks that papal resignations might become a “fashion” or the norm.
“Benedict had the courage to do it because he didn’t feel like going on because of his health. I, for the moment, do not have that on my agenda,” he said, according to closed-door comments with the Jesuit community in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in February 2023, which were reported by the Jesuit journal La Civilta Cattolica.
"I believe that the pope’s ministry is ad vitam (for life). I see no reason why it shouldn’t be so. The ministry of the great patriarchs is always for life. And historical tradition is important.”
Gera contributed from Warsaw, Poland.
FILE - Pope Francis reaches to hold hands with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI as he pays him a visit, Nov. 28, 2020 at the Vatican. (Vatican Media via AP, File)
FILE - Pope Francis, right, hugs Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI prior to the start of a meeting with elderly faithful in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on Sept. 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)
The Shib Sibs are making a comeback with an eye on more Olympic figure skating medals.
The popular brother-sister ice dance team of Alex and Maia Shibutani announced Thursday they will return to competition this season in the hopes of making the loaded American squad for the next year's Milan-Cortina Games.
The 34-year-old Alex and the 30-year-old Maia have skated together most of their lives, and for a long stretch were the dominant U.S. ice dancers. They are three-time world medalists and two-time Olympians, finishing ninth at the 2014 Sochi Games and third at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, where they also were part of the American squad that won a team bronze medal.
The Shibutanis stepped away from competition after those Olympics, choosing to focus on school and other interests. They've authored four children's books and worked as choreographers and ambassadors for diversity and representation, and two years ago, they were inducted into U.S. Figure Skating's hall of fame.
They extended their hiatus when Maia Shibutani was diagnosed with a malignant tumor on her kidney in 2019. She underwent surgery to remove the mass, and additional treatment resulted in a long, painful recovery.
“These past seven years have challenged and inspired us in ways we never expected," Maia Shibutani said. “I’m so happy and grateful to be healthy and in a position to make the decision to return to the sport I love in this way.”
The Shibutanis continued to skate in exhibitions over the years, and they remained close to the Olympic movement, albeit in a different way. Last summer, Alex Shibutani worked as a photographer and Maia Shibutani did media work at the Paris Olympics, where U.S. figure skaters were finally awarded their team gold medals from the 2022 Beijing Games.
Alex Shibutani also is a member of the athletes' commission for the organizing committee for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Now, the Shibutanis hope to be on the next American squad headed to the Olympics.
They will be training with longtime coach Marina Zoueva and Massimo Scali, who recently helped Alysa Liu return from her own brief retirement to win the first women's world title for a U.S. figure skater in nearly two decades.
It won't be easy for the Shibutanis to make the team for the Milano-Cortina Games. Madison Chock and Evan Bates just won their third consecutive ice dance world title and will be prohibitive favorites to stand atop the Olympic podium, while Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko were fifth at worlds and Caroline Green and Michael Parsons were ninth.
The U.S. has qualified the maximum three ice dance teams for the Winter Games, which means someone will be left out.
“As Olympic medalists and U.S. Figure Skating hall-of-famers, it’s incredibly exciting to have Maia and Alex return to competition next season,” said Justin Dillon, the senior director of athlete high performance for U.S. Figure Skating.
“They are strong ambassadors for the sport, both on and off the ice. Their comeback adds to the excitement surrounding Team USA after a very successful year and makes the team stronger as we look toward the Olympic season.”
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FILE - Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani of the United States perform during the ice dance, free dance figure skating final in the Gangneung Ice Arena at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File)
