VATICAN CITY (CNS) - Looking back on 2009, it's difficult to imagine a busier year for 82-year-old Pope Benedict XVI.
The Year of St. Paul. The Year for Priests. A major social encyclical. A Holy Land pilgrimage. A first meeting with President Obama. Ten new saints. An African trip and an African synod. A Facebook debut. A controversial concession to Catholic traditionalists. An unexpected overture to disaffected Anglicans.
And those are just the highlights, of course.