VIVA IL PAPA!

Pope Mobbed at Vatican Appearance

Oddsmakers put Ghanaian cardinal at 5-2 as successor.

Say a little prayer for him. Pope Benedict XVI asked Catholics to pray for both him and his successor at his penultimate address at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican on Sunday. The crowd, which numbered more than 50,000 people, chanted “Long live the pope!” as the pope pleaded in Spanish for Catholics to “continue praying for me and the next pope.” He will not speak again until next Sunday. Meanwhile, oddsmakers are banking on the pope being from the developing world, with Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana currently coming in at 5–2 odds. Archbishop Angelo Scola from Italy has 7–2 odds, and Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet is currently standing at 5–1.