In September 1962, shortly before the opening of the Second Vatican Council, Pope John XXIII learned that he had inoperable cancer. Throughout the first session of the council, he knew that his life was drawing to a close.

The Catholic faithful have given Pope Benedict a warm reception in his two major public appearances since his Feb. 11 announcement that he will resign from the papal office on Feb. 28.

Archbishop Pedro Ricardo Barreto Jimeno isn't easily intimidated. But when a coffin bearing his name was found inside an American mining firm's closed smelter in La Oroya, Peru, in 2009, he felt a chill in his spine.

In the eyes of Father Marc Cramer, a call to the priesthood "freaks out most young men."

When Alina Thul started attending Mass at St. Margaret's Parish in Rimbey with her future husband, it was like going to a foreign country.

She knew what she wanted and if she had a goal, you had to help her get it. Mitzi Crowe knew how to get things done.

He was a gentle soul and a patient pastor who was always present to his people. Father Duncan MacDonnell typified what every Catholic wants in their spiritual shepherd.

Pope Benedict's historic decision to resign at the end of February has astonished and perplexed the world in many ways, not least because of what might be called the mystery of the missing encyclical.

OXFORD, ENGLAND – Pope Benedict was "exhausted and disheartened" well before his Feb. 11 resignation announcement, according to his German biographer, Peter Seewald.

ROME - The halls of history might hold some clues as to what kind of impact Pope Benedict's resignation will have on the Church and how to navigate a smooth transition, said a U.S. scholar.