Pope John Paul II greets Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, then Prefect of the Catholic Church’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in December 2003.

Pope John Paul II waves to the faithful from a window of Rome’s Agostino Gemelli hospital where he appeared on Sunday, February 6, 2005.

The seven American Catholic Cardinals pose with the Archbishop of Miami and the president of the Catholic University of America in January 2005. Standing, from left: Bishop William Lori, president of the CUA board of trustees; Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Archbishop of Washington; Father David O’Connell, president of CUA; Archbishop John Favalora of Miami; and Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia. Seated, from left: Cardinal Edward Egan of New York; Cardinal Adam Maida of Detroit; Cardinal Francis George of Chicago; Cardinal William Keeler of Baltimore; and Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles.

Pope John Paul II lies in state in Saint Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. The worldwide outpouring of emotion triggered by the Pope’s death unexpectedly became a factor in the pre-conclave politics.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger blesses the coffin containing the body of Pope John Paul II, during the funeral mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Friday April 8, 2005.

Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schönborn prays during a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Monday, April 18, 2005, in his last public appearance before the conclave began later that day. Schönborn was one of the most ardent advocates of the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to the papacy.

Italian Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, center, walks in procession to enter the grottos containing the tomb of Pope John Paul II following a Mass in St. Peter’s. For some, Martini was considered the main “liberal” alternative to the candidacy of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

Argentine Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, who would become the main Latin American candidate in the 2005 conclave, celebrates a Mass in honor of Pope John Paul II at the Buenos Aires Cathedral in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Monday, April 4, 2005.

Cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, on Monday, April 18, 2005, at the beginning of the conclave.

Cardinal Jorge Arturo Medina Estevez of Chile announces the “Habemus Papam,” the Latin expression for “We have a Pope,” from a balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, on Tuesday, April 19, 2005, following the election of Pope Benedict XVI.

The newly elected Pope Benedict XVI waves to the crowd from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.

Pope Benedict XVI greets and blesses the crowd from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, on Tuesday, April 19, 2005.

Pope Benedict XVI, flanked by Cardinal Angelo Sodano of Italy, left, and Eduardo Martinez Somalo of Spain, right, makes his first visit to his new residence at the Vatican on April 20, 2005.

Pope Benedict XVI celebrates his installment Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, on Sunday, April 24, 2005.

Pope Benedict XVI greets Metropolitan Chrisostomos, a top envoy for Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world’s Christian Orthodox Churches, during a meeting in the Sala Clementina at the Vatican, Monday, April 25, 2005.

Pope Benedict XVI tours St. Peter’s Square during the first general audience of his new pontificate Wednesday, April 27, 2005, pledging to work for reconciliation and peace.

Pope Benedict XVI greets the faithful during the first appearance of his papacy from the window of his apartment overlooking St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, on Sunday, May 1, 2005.