It has been over 700 years since a Pope Emeritus celebrated a birthday. While we do not know the day on which Pope Celestine V, the last pope to resign for reasons other than making clear the line of papal succession, was born, it is likely that he celebrated his final birthday while imprisoned by his successor, Pope Boniface VIII, in the last nine months of his life.
Benedict XVI was, as we now know, devoted to Celestine V, but he is spending his first (and, one hopes, far from last) birthday as Pope Emeritus not imprisoned but in the company of his beloved brother, Fr. Georg Ratzinger, at Castel Gandolfo. A decade ago, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger had hopes of returning to his native Germany to join Father Georg in retirement, but Pope John Paul II refused to accept his resignation, and now we know that the Holy Spirit had different plans.
As we join today in celebration of Benedict's birthday and prayers for his continued good health, this is a good time once again to offer our thanks to the Pope Emeritus for his years of selfless service to Christ and His Church. May God grant his servant many more happy years.
(Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI blesses the faithful from the window of Castel Gandolfo, February 28, 2013. Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images)
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