2005

Events

 * April 2: Death of Pope John Paul II.


 * April 8: Funeral of Pope John Paul II.


 * April 19: Cardinal Joseph Alois Ratzinger is elected Pope, takes the name Pope Benedict XVI.


 * April 24: Pope Benedict XVI celebrates his Papal Inauguration Mass.


 * April 27: Pope Benedict XVI holds his first General Audience in Saint Peter's Square.


 * May 7: Pope Benedict XVI takes possesion of the Basilica of St. John Lateran.


 * May 9: Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian Authority sign an agreement to begin feasibility studies on the "Two Seas Canal" project, a plan to save the Dead Sea from evaporation by building a canal to the Red Sea.


 * May 9: Pope Benedict XVI, citing "exceptional circumstances," waives the usual five-year waiting period and opens the cause of Beatification for Pope John Paul II. This is the first step towards Canonization. The current Pope's decision is announced on May 13.


 * June 28: Camillo Cardinal Ruini inaugurates the diocesan phase of the cause for Beatification for Pope John Paul II in the Lateran Basilica.

Timeline
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