They say the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away (or something like that). Well, on Monday the Lord tooketh away when Pope Benedict XVI announced his retirement from the role of pontiff, and the internet gaveth in the best way it knows how: tweets, memes, and jokes on jokes on jokes.
Claiming health concerns, the Pope announced Monday that he would be resigning the papacy. "After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry," the pontiff told senior church officials in Rome, according to Bloomberg. (So the move apparently had nothing to do with fears that Justin Timberlake's triumphant return to music at Sunday night's Grammys was, in fact, the Second Coming.) The move marked the first time a Pope had stepped down since 1415, when Gregory XII resigned.
Naturally, the internet, which had welcomed the man previously known as Joseph Ratzinger so warmly to Twitter back in December, immediately jumped on the news – sending scores of humorous missives on Twitter, memes on Tumblr, and even a jobs posting on Craigslist Rome. Actor Simon Pegg jumped in with a timely tweet: "I think JJ Abrams has been approached." And director Kevin Smith posted a message on Twitter and Facebook stating, "I NOMINATE THIS GUY FOR THE NEW POPE!" along with an image of himself and George Carlin in his "Cardinal Glick" attire from Dogma. Other internet denizens weighed in with riffs on the "One Does Not Simply Walk into Mordor" and "Futurama Fry" memes.
Benedict is scheduled to turn over the keys to heaven on Feb. 28, and presumably he'll have to do the same for the @Pontifex Twitter account then, as well. The internet's reaction is still ongoing, but in the meantime, enjoy some of the best web responses to the Pope's retirement in the gallery above.
Screengrabs: Wired
