Pope Francis, moreover, has singlehandedly revived - albeit only somewhat - what was a dying Catholic Church.
This has especially been the case in Latin America, where the Church had been steadily losing the region's poor and working-class majority to Pentecostals and other holy rollers (many of them, Jim Jones-style con-men).
Francis couldn't reverse the trend outright - but he slowed it considerably.
Accordingly, the next Pope might well be another Latin American - possibly someone, like Francis, of Italian descent.
Italians, as you know, are still dominant among the high-ranking Curia - so they'll probably at least be able to insist on an Italian-speaking Pope.
But Benedict might in fact end up being the last European Pope for many years.
Ma - chi lo sa.
"Don't ask-a me; I'm-a just-a the Pope."
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