History Today: How Pope Benedict changed the Catholic Church with his resignation

The world was stunned on February 28, 2013, when Benedict XVI resigned from the papacy, becoming the first one to do so in 600 years. Announcing the decision during a routine gathering of cardinals, he uttered “ingravescente aetate”, the Latin term for advancing age.

“I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise” of leading the world’s one billion Roman Catholics, stated The New York Times quoting Pope Benedict.

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In 1953, the chemical structure of DNA was discovered by James Watson and Francis Crick at the University of Cambridge. Additionally, Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was assassinated on this day in 1986 in Stockholm, Sweden while he was walking home with his wife.

Here is all that happened across the world on this day.

Pope Benedict XVI tenders his resignation from papacy

It was on this day in 2013 that the world came to a near standstill after Benedict XVI, the 265th pope of the Roman Catholic Church, resigned from the papacy.

The German-born pontiff was presiding over a pro-forma meeting of cardinals to set dates for three upcoming canonisations on February 11. While others rose to leave the Consistory Hall of the Apostolic Palace after the ceremony, Benedict remained seated, retrieved a single sheet of paper and commenced reading. In his German-laced Latin, he stated that his “strengths, due to advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry.”

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His resignation took effect at 8:00 pm Vatican time on February 28, at which point he ceased to be pope and assumed the title “Pope Emeritus.” He departed the Vatican and initially stayed at Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer residence, before retiring to the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery within Vatican City. At the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, he vowed to devote his life to meditation and prayer.

Before Benedict, Pope Gregory XII was the last pontiff to have resigned from the post in 1415 driven by the need to quell the Great Western Schism, a leadership crisis in which three individuals were vying for the position of pope.

Discovery of chemical structure of DNA

Molecular biologists Francis Crick and James Watson walked into The Eagle pub in Cambridge and announced, “We have discovered the secret of life”, on February 28, 1953. Earlier in the day, the two men had discovered the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA.

While DNA was identified in 1869, the scientific community didn’t recognise its function as genetic material until 1943. This led to a focused effort to determine DNA’s structure, aiming to elucidate the workings of genes and the mechanisms of inheritance.

On February 28, 1986, Crick and Watson identified DNA’s double-helix structure, a breakthrough that revolutionised genetics and molecular biology. The structure was based on King’s College team member Rosalind Franklin’s X-ray diffraction image of DNA also known as Photograph 51. The image showed that DNA had a helix shape.

The image was shown to James Watson by one of Franklin’s colleagues without her knowledge. Upon examining the picture he realised that their theory about the structure Of DNA was correct.

Watson and Crick published their findings in Nature on April 25, 1953, describing DNA as two strands forming a spiral. Watson, Crick and Maurice won the Nobel Prize for their work in 1962.

Swedish PM Olof Palme assassinated in Stockholm

It is not often that the Prime Minister of a country is gunned down in the middle of a road. But something similar happened to Swedish PM Olof Palme on February 28, 1986, when he was walking home from the cinema theatre with his wife Lisbet in tow in Stockholm.

The assassination, which unfolded on one of Sweden’s most heavy traffic roads Sveavägen Street, was witnessed by over a dozen people who saw the tall assailant fire the shots and flee the scene.

However, in June 2020, Swedish authorities identified Stig Engström, a graphic designer known as the “Skandia Man,” as the prime suspect in the case. But, since he had died in 2000, the case was closed without prosecution.

Palme was a prominent and controversial political figure known for his socialist policies, vocal opposition to apartheid in South Africa, and criticism of US foreign policy. His assassination shocked Sweden and led to one of the most extensive criminal investigations in history.

This Day, That Year

• The Persian Gulf War ended as Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein accepted a cease-fire agreement in 1991.

• In 1942, Japanese troops landed on the island of Java during World War II.

• In 1827, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad became the first steam-operated railway in the United States to be chartered as a common carrier of freight and passengers.