In surprise move, pope to resign

Citing advanced years and infirmity, Pope Benedict XVI stunned the Roman Catholic world by saying that he would resign Feb. 28, becoming the first pontiff in nearly 600 years to do so.

Pope Benedict XVI visited Yankee Stadium in 2008 during a US visit. He also prayed at Ground Zero and met with Boston abuse victims.

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Pope Benedict XVI visited Yankee Stadium in 2008 during a US visit. He also prayed at Ground Zero and met with Boston abuse victims.

Getty Images

The new pope greeted the crowd after his installation Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on April 24, 2005.

File photo

Benedict met with President Obama and his wife, Michelle, in 2009.

AFP / Getty Images

The pope delivered the Urbi and Orbi message after the Easter Holy Mass at St. Peter's Square in 2011.

David L. Ryan / Globe Staff

Archbishop Sean O'Malley, head of the Boston Archdiocese, was made a cardinal in 2006.

Benedict prayed at the Western Wall in Jerusalem in 2009 during a tour of the Middle East.

AP

Benedict traveled far as pope, including this voyage to Mexico, where he donned a sombrero.

Cardinal Sean O’Malley of the Boston Archdiocese is not expected to be in the running to succeed Pope Benedict XVI.

Experts say Vatican insider likely to be chosen as next pope

Cardinal Sean O’Malley (left) of the Boston Archdiocese is not expected to be chosen to succeed Pope Benedict XVI, according to two local experts.

Pope Benedict XVI

Previous papal resignations

While such papal resignations are extremely rare, there are precedents in the two millennia history of the Catholic Church.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2013/02/10/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/Northeast%20Snow.JPEG-05f1c.jpg In Scituate, Patrick thanks workers for patience

Governor Patrick vowed to push recovery efforts across the state after touring the storm-ravaged town.

Boston launches effort to remove massive snow piles

Using orange spray paint, workers will mark mounds of snow that clog streets for removal by front-end loaders and dump trucks.

JULIETTE KAYYEM

Snowstorm will provide a blizzard of lessons

Mistakes made during this week’s cleanup will help drive preparations for the next storm. The cycle of learning and adjusting never ends.

55th Grammy Awards

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2013/02/11/BostonGlobe.com/Arts/Images/mumford-1916--90x90.jpg At Grammy Awards, a little something for everyone

Mumford & Sons took home the big prize for album of the year, but it was truly an evening where everyone had a small piece of the pie.

President Obama ordered the raid on Osama bin Laden at this hideout in Pakistan. The scope of the war on terrorism and presidential authority has come under new scrutiny.

Calls grow to revamp antiterror statute

As antiterror operations expand, a rare bipartisan coalition is advocating that Congress apply a new set of checks on President Obama.

Boston Globe ePaper

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From the Archives | Photo Gallery

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2013/02/06/BostonGlobe.com/Special/Images/1940storm006-940[1].jpg The 1940 Valentine’s Day Blizzard

The Boston area was surprised by the Valentine’s Day Blizzard of 1940, which left cars and people stranded overnight, and 31 New Englanders dead.

Globe exclusives

A 1955 Miami Beach Police mug shot of Bulger (left), and his booking photo in 2011.

A window into Whitey’s brutal life and mind
Police commissioner Edward F. Davis.

Leeway in policy to punish police
Snowballs flew in a Boston Common crowd.

Amid the toil, many find pure delight

Opinion | Jennifer Graham

Our zombies, ourselves
Riders boarded a Green Line trolley at the Kenmore Square Station on Sunday shortly after the MBTA resumed limited service at 2 p.m.

MBTA service slowly roars back to life
If we had to pick the gold standard of the night, the award would undoubtedly go to Justin Timberlake.

Rule makers, rule breakers at Grammy Awards
Courtney and Russell Jenkins

G Cover

Spousal support for medical residents
Among Boston Dynamic’s robots is BigDog, a bot that can lumber across rough terrain and carry 340-pounds.

Mass. emerging as a robotics leader

Album Review | POP

Eels’ ‘Wonderful, Glorious’ fits its title
Famous residents of the facing ville include White House staffer Alonzo Fields and muscician Terri Lyne Carrington.

Globe Magazine

Change on the Mystic
Scott Butera (left), chief executive of Foxwoods, and developer David Nunes

Foxwoods joins chase for casino license in Mass.
Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Michael Weiner is living with an inoperable brain tumor.

Sunday Baseball Notes

David Prouty steps up for MLB Players Association

Sports

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On basketball

Jason Terry and the Celtics won their seventh straight game on Sunday.

Celtics’ surge could make them buyers

Their versatility and success since Rajon Rondo’s injury could put the Celtics in position to add players at the trade deadline.

Metro

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Houses along the coast in Hull suffered severe damage from the weekend storm.

109,000 still awaiting return of power

National Grid expected to restore power to Brockton and Quincy by mid-Monday, while NStar said some might not have power until Thursday.

Columnists

Mason Plumlee is called for an offensive foul against Eddie Odio on this drive in the first half of Duke’s 62-61 victory.

Christopher L. Gasper

Duke wins on pedigree

Tech Lab Plus

Make any computer your own

JULIETTE KAYYEM

Snowstorm will provide a blizzard of lessons

Innovation Economy

Divining the future of real estate
Former Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle was killed Feb. 2.

JAMES CARROLL

Death comes out of nowhere

Yvonne Abraham

A playful solution
Boston fans wear paper bags on their heads during a game against Toronto at Fenway Park Sept. 9. The Blue Jays won 4-3 to sweep the three-game series.

JOAN VENNOCHI

Selling the Red Sox
The MBTA’s new subway ads feature badly behaving animals.

JEFF JACOBY

Boston’s commuters could learn a lesson from Tokyo’s

JOANNA WEISS

Facebook’s reckoning moment
The NFL has reached a level of popularity that no one sport can seem to match.

Bob Ryan

Would we be better off without the NFL?
Shawn Thornton fought the Rangers’ Mike Rupp earlier this season.

Christopher L. Gasper

It’s time for NHL to end fighting
The Cambridge start-up Trovare is designing a rubber wristband called Amico, a new entrant in F2F networking.

Innovation Economy

Can technology help face-to-face networking?

Nation & World

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Marine General Joseph F. Dunford

New, likely final commander takes over in Afghanistan

Marine General Joseph Dunford will oversee the final transfer of lead responsibility for security to Afghan troops.

Politics

Senator Lindsey Graham

Senator vows to hold up defense, CIA nominees

Senator Lindsey Graham said he wants more answers about the Sept. 11 attack against a US installation in Benghazi, Libya.

Business

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Dr. Ramy Arnaout at Beth Israel Deaconess got help from computer programmers with a challenging data-analysis problem.

Thorny research problems, solved by crowdsourcing

Dr. Ramy Arnaout at Beth Israel Deaconess got help from computer programmers with a challenging data-analysis problem.

Arts

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Book Review

“Bad Pharma” by Ben Goldacre.

‘Bad Pharma’ by Ben Goldacre

In the book, Goldacre focuses on the hiding and manipulating of data in drug development and marketing.

Health and wellness

MD MAMA

TdaP vaccine recommended during pregnancy

Why take the vaccine? To protect babies against pertussis, or whooping cough.

Magazine

The cover for the February 10 2013 issue

Change on the Mystic
The cover for the February 3 2013 issue

South End remodel: Rear window
The cover for the January 27 2013 issue

New England traditional, with a twist
The cover for the January 20 2013 issue

The last days of Sylvia Plath

Opinion

“In the struggle for resiliency after a disaster, there is no finish line.”

Juliette Kayyem 

Ideas

“Though speech is far more open in Egypt, it now carries a new and different kind of risk, one more unpredictable and sudden.”

Thanassis Cambanis,  on Egypt’s free-speech backlash

“Our neighborhood feels like a Charles Dickens book. It feels so homey to see dads pulling their little kids around.”

Laura Chew, of Beacon Hill