POPE BENEDICT XVI recalled the “fright” he felt at being elected Pope, telling cardinals during his year-end speech yesterday that he never imagined he would be chosen and only agreed to it because he had great faith in God.

Pope Benedict XVI recalled the “fright” he felt at being elected pope in an end-of-the-year speech to cardinals today, saying he never imagined he would be chosen and only agreed to it because he had great faith in God.

Pope Benedict XVI presided over a special ceremony today to mark the release of a slimmed-down version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the 1992 guide on Catholic beliefs.

POPE Benedict XVI held his first working meeting with the College of Cardinals yesterday as authorities began gearing up for the influx of dignitaries and 500,000 faithful expected for the Pope’s inauguration tomorrow.

Finally at rest after years of debilitating disease, Pope John Paul II’s body lay in state today in the frescoed Apostolic Palace as the world mourned his passing and the Vatican prepared for the ritual-filled funeral and conclave that will elect his successor.