Well, I wasn't expecting that.

Steve Skojec came up with that, so credit him accordingly.

My initial thought is to derail the ultramontane interpretations of conclaves and selections:

The Holy Spirit protects the Church in exactly the same way a good parent protects a toddler. He keeps the child safe, but doesn't guarantee that the kid won't eat dirt, roll in dog poop or say something inappropriate to your mustachioed aunt.

We're guaranteed that a Pope won't officially teach something that is in error. That's it.

Early lists of the papabile are up, this one courtesy of the excellent Michael Brendan Dougherty.

But in the meantime, I'll miss this one a lot: I appreciate him as a writer and pastor, and will regret that, barring a last minute surprise, we won't get his encyclical on faith to finish the triptych.

Thank you, Holy Father, and may God grant you rest and peace.