It is not usual for the Pope Withdrawal to his position. It had not happened for 719 years. The last Pope who resigned, Celestine V, has become today an involuntary protagonist. In the first millennium of the Church's history, resignations were more numerous, probably more than ten. But in 2013 the Withdrawal of a Pope causes great astonishment.

I would like to add, however, that the surprise is de facto, not de jure. The papal Withdrawal is contemplated in the Code of Canon Law with the following words: "if the Roman Pontiff renounces his official document, it is required for validity that the Withdrawal be free and formally manifested, but not that it be accepted by anyone" (canon 332 § 2). As can be seen, the pretension of this rule is not to allow the papal Withdrawal . The pope can resign without anyone's permission. Moreover, the Canon Law has always contemplated the Roman Pontiff as "lord of the canons", and it would be unreasonable to impose on him conditions of lawfulness in the way he manages his official document. The claim of the canon is to respect the conditions for the Withdrawal to be well known to all and completely free.

Benedict XVI's intention on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes (today, February 11) was to comply scrupulously with the conditions with which canon 332 dresses the papal Withdrawal . He has convoked an extraordinary consistory of cardinals. He announced his well-considered desire to resign from position. And he explained the cause, which is the lack of strength, "which, in recent months, has diminished in me in such a way that I must recognize my incapacity to exercise well the ministry entrusted to me". He never mentioned his age, but it is important to know that in April he will be 86 years old.

If I may offer an opinion staff , I will say that I was not at all surprised by Withdrawal. Joseph Ratzinger is equanimous, dispassionate in the evaluation of his actions. He has, on the other hand, a very modest vision of his own condition as a ruler. And above all he is transparent, he hates make-up.

It is not until February 28 that, by Benedict XVI's disposition, the status of sede vacante will take place. From that day on, the so-called General Congregations preparatory to the conclave will be held daily. All the cardinals in Rome, whether they are electors or not, will meet in these congregations. It is known that cardinals lose the status of electors if they reach the age of eighty before the day of the sede vacante.

For the beginning of the conclave, a minimum of 15 days and no more than 20 days must elapse from the moment of the vacancy (Const. ap. Universi Dominici Gregis, 37). The purpose of the interval is to await the arrival of cardinals from the rest of the world. Thus, the conclave will begin between March 15 and 20. And probably by Easter we will have a new pope.