pontificate

Despite its depiction of some of the world’s most pressing problems, filmmaker Gianfranco Rosi’s polished retrospective maintains a tranquil tone as it looks back over the 37 journeys to 53 different countries undertaken by the pontiff during the first nine years of his pontificate.

The law is not very detailed, saying only that the decision must be made freely and “duly manifested,” and no one needs to formally accept a pope’s resignation for it to be valid.