On Ash Wednesday, Feb. 13, the season leading up to Easter began for Catholic students.  Also on their mind during the start of this season was the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. Pope Benedict XVI is the first pope to abdicate in nearly 600 years, and the first since Pope Gregory XII in 1415.

The Vatican released a statement by the papal leader explaining his resignation Monday, Feb. 11, saying that “of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.”

Many students on campus meet through the NCSU Catholic Campus Ministry.  Members attend events such as discussions, mass and confessions. The CCM offers opportunities for students to grow in faith, according to Sarah Baist, a senior majoring in law and justice.

Over this past Christmas break, Sarah and others from the CCM took part in a pilgrimage to Rome and were able to attend an audience with Pope Benedict.

Many will miss the papal leader after he resigns, Baist said. She described Pope Benedict XVI as kind, generous and “a very humbled individual who looks out for all of God’s children and the Catholic Church.”

The Conclave is an assembly of Cardinals, or the bishops with this special duty, that will select the next papal leader. This assembly normally lasts a few weeks to meet and pray for guidance choosing the next pope.

“The pope should be God’s servant, subjecting themselves to His will and to the Catholic Church,  » Baist said. «One would hope that a Pope would adhere to sacred to Sacred Scriptures and Catholic tradition, striving to preserve the truth and demonstrating the love God has for us, the love that Jesus Christ had when he sacrificed himself on the cross for all of our sins.” 

Other students believe his resignation speaks volume on his character. “The fact that Benedict XVI resigns because he felt he did not have the strength to adequately lead says a lot because he was honest and courageous,” Page Harris, a junior majoring in English, said. 

Baist summed up her feelings through a quote from Sister Mary Theresa of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of Eucharist who said, “Pope John Paul II remained in office so that he might show us how to suffer and die. Benedict XVI is leaving the papal office so that he might show us how to live in humble honesty.”

“His resignation took a great deal of humility, and that is definitely something that people appreciate,” Baist said.