If I am hearing this correctly, the last words of Benedict's papacy were, "Thank you, and good night!" And a longer version of the historic events here: Michael Peppard is associate professor of theology at Fordham University and on the staff of its Curran Center for American Catholic Studies. He is the author of The World's Oldest Church and The Son of God in the Roman World, and on Twitter @MichaelPeppard. He is a contributing editor to Commonweal. Also by this author Bishops' Statement on Religious Liberty Misses the Mark Get Commonweal's latest, delivered twice weekly. Email address Most Recent An Epic Embarrassment By Matt Mazewski November 25, 2024 America’s Decline & Fall By Jim Sleeper November 24, 2024 Not Going Back By The Editors November 21, 2024