Newly-elected Pope to have lunch with his predecessor

PanARMENIAN.Net - The newly-elected Pope Francis is set to have lunch with his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict, in a first for the modern day Catholic Church, according to BBC News.

Pope Francis will be flown by helicopter to his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo for the private lunch.

Benedict has lived at the lakeside castle south of Rome since last month, when he became the first pope in 600 years to resign, citing ill health. Cardinal Jorge Maria Bergoglio was elected to succeed him on March 13.

There is no public record of any previous meeting between a Pope and a former Pope as usually a new head of the Catholic Church is only elected upon the death of his predecessor.

Although there were periods in the middle ages when there was more than one pope, after disputed elections, there is no precedent in modern times for a sitting Pope sitting down for lunch with the pontiff he succeeded.

The pope emeritus is expected to stay on at the papal summer residence until new accommodation being prepared for him inside the walls of Vatican City is ready at the end of April.

For his part, Pope Francis will begin the Church's most important liturgical season on Sunday with a Palm Sunday Mass in St Peter's Square.

He will then lead six more liturgies during the week, culminating with the Easter Sunday Mass and Urbi et Orbi ("To the city [of Rome] and the world") blessing.