[Mrs. Don-o]

No, Pope Benedict isn't a Benedictine. He's a secular (diocesan) priest.

One of those so-called prophecy guys (Nostradamus? Or that other Malarkey?) said he would be "Gloria olivae" ("the glory of the olive,") which (by a major stretch) some people identified with the Olivetans, who are a tiny branch of the Benedictines. They have one abbey in France; none in Germany.

There is no connection between the Olivetan Order and the Benedict XVI.

I always thought "Glory of the Olive" meant that the pope after John Paul II would be Martini!

:oD

[21twelve]

Thank you for the information. Seeing as he was born in Bavaria I was thinking the “Glory of the Hops” or some such might be more appropriate.

However, I seem to recall that exactly 132 days after his ninth birthday his neighbor planted an olive tree, so that would seem to fit the prophecy!

[reg45]

A vodka martini gets you the “slavic” angle.