Pope Benedict wanted to be a librarian
Pope Benedict XVI wanted to become a librarian 13 years ago but his request to quit the Vatican high office was rejected.
His predecessor, Pope John Paul II, declined his request to spend his last years as the archivist of the Vatican Secret Archives and as a librarian of the Vatican Library, according to the incumbent librarian and archivist Cardinal Raffaele Farina.
But he found his job “burdensome” and wanted to retire to academic study of ancient documents for the rest of his life.
He asked the Pope if he could step down from his role when he turned 70 on April 16, 1997, a move which would have permanently removed him from Vatican politics and from the eyes of the world....
Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)
His predecessor, Pope John Paul II, declined his request to spend his last years as the archivist of the Vatican Secret Archives and as a librarian of the Vatican Library, according to the incumbent librarian and archivist Cardinal Raffaele Farina.
But he found his job “burdensome” and wanted to retire to academic study of ancient documents for the rest of his life.
He asked the Pope if he could step down from his role when he turned 70 on April 16, 1997, a move which would have permanently removed him from Vatican politics and from the eyes of the world....