Tuesday 12 February 2013

Lightning strikes St. Peters Basilica hours after the Pope announced resignation

Lightning strikes St. Peters Basilica hours after the Pope announced resignation
Photo: Lightning hits St Peter’s hours after Pope Benedict stuns cardinals with first resignation in 600 years

Lighting strikes the basilica of St.Peter’s dome earlier this evening during a storm that struck Rome on the same day Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation. The Catholic church was thrown into turmoil today after Pope Benedict XVI made the shock decision to quit the papacy because of his deteriorating health. In a decision that has surprised even his closest aides, the 85-year-old Pontiff said his strength was 'no longer adequate to continue in office due to his advanced age'. He announced his resignation in Latin to a meeting of Vatican cardinals this morning, saying he did not have the 'strength of mind and body' to continue leading more than a billion Roman Catholics worldwide.

City on Monday just hours after Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation, according to the BBC. The lightning strike happened around 6 p.m. local time. Photo above.

AFP was the first to publish the startling photo of a lightning bolt coming out of the heavens and appearing to strike the dome of St. Peter's Basilica, one of Catholicism's holiest sites. AFP photographer Filippo Monteforte caught the amazing photograph during a storm.
"It was icy cold and the rain was falling in sheets," he told AFP. "When the storm started, I thought that lightning might strike the rod, so I decided it was worth seeing whether – if it DID strike – I could get the shot at exactly the right moment.”
He waited two hours before lightning struck twice and he captured a still image. “The first bolt was huge and lit up the sky, but unfortunately I missed it," he told AFP. "I had better luck the second time, and was able to snap a couple of images of the dome illuminated by the bolt.” (Huffington Post)

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