Cardinals begin process to elect new pope today

The Roman Catholic Church marked its first Sunday in nearly eight years without a papal blessing, as cardinals gathered to elect a new leader of the 1.2 billion-member faith in one of the most troubled periods of its history.

Reuters reports that the windows of the papal apartments overlooking St. Peter’s Square were shut, which is normally the case only when a pope is outside Rome and delivers the Sunday blessing elsewhere.

There was no papal blessing of any kind, the first time the church has been in such a state of limbo since

Sunday, April 3, 2005, the day after Pope John Paul died.

“It’s strange, very strange to come to Rome to St. Peter’s Square and not to hear the Angelus (Sunday blessing) of the pope, especially because the pope is still alive – it’s a unique situation that we are living through,” said Fabio Ferrara, who was one of the few people in the square at noon.

“We have been praying a lot, it’s sad, it is very, very sad, we feel like orphans,” said Sister Agnese Carreddu, an Italian nun in the square.

On Monday, cardinals will begin preliminary meetings, known as general congregations, to get to know each other, discuss church issues and decide the starting date of the closed-door conclave to choose Benedict’s successor.

The meetings are open to all cardinals, whereas only those under 80 can enter the Sistine Chapel and elect a new pope from their own ranks.

Currently 115 cardinal electors are due to take part in the conclave, which many believe will start around March 10..

In an exclusive interview with Reuters, Sandri said the Church must open itself up to women in the next pontificate, giving them  more leadership positions in the Vatican and beyond.

He also said the next pope should not be chosen according to a geographic area but must be a “saintly man” who is “best qualified” to lead the Church in a time of crisis.

Benedict ended his difficult eight-year reign on Thursday, pledging unconditional obedience to whoever succeeds him.