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Pope Francis, center, sits as the coffin of late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is carried in St. Peter’s Square for his funeral mass, at the Vatican, Jan. 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)The road to Francis’ 2013 election was paved by Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to resign and retire — the first in 600 years.

Francis didn’t shy from Benedict’s potentially uncomfortable shadow. Francisas an elder statesman and adviser, coaxing him out of his cloistered retirement to participate in the public life of the church until“It’s like having your grandfather in the house, a wise grandfather,” Francis said.

Francis’ looser liturgical style and pastoral priorities made clear he and the German-born theologian came from very different religious traditions, and Francis directly overturned several decisions of his predecessor.He made sure Salvadoran Archbishop Óscar Romero, a hero to the liberation theology movement in Latin America, was canonized after his case languished under Benedict over concerns about the credo’s Marxist bent.

Francis reimposed restrictions on celebrating the old Latin Mass that Benedict had relaxed, arguing it was divisive. The move riled Francis’ traditionalist critics and opened sustained conflict with right-wing Catholics, particularly in the U.S.

Pope Francis presides the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) torchlight procession celebrated in front of the Colosseum on Good Friday in Rome, March 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)the United Kingdom, Germany and Poland said their proposal for a ceasefire to start on Monday was supported by U.S. President Donald Trump, whom they had briefed over the phone earlier in the day.

Trump has called for Ukraine and Russia to meet for “very high level talks,” saying they are “very close to a deal” on ending the bloody three-year war.Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has previously said he was ready for peace talks, but only after a ceasefire is in place.

Putin said that Russia proposed several ceasefires in recent months — a halt on strikes on energy infrastructure, which Ukraine had agreed to, a unilateral 30-hour Easter truce and another unilateral ceasefire on May 8-10 that has since expired.Ukrainian officials said Russia repeatedly violated all of those.