Thursday marks the last day that Pope Benedict XVI will hold the holy office.

North Dakota State University student Joshua Haider has some thoughts about the papal resignation in the school newspaper, The Spectrum.

I had never heard of a pope resigning- I didn’t even think it was possible. Indeed, no pope has resigned in almost 600 years. Since 2010, however, Pope Benedict XVI, born Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, has affirmed publicly that, “If a pope clearly realizes that he is no longer physically, psychologically and spiritually capable of handling the duties of his office, then he has a right, and under some circumstances, also an obligation to resign.” The news still caught all Catholics by surprise; no one except his brother Georg, also a priest, had any idea that the news was coming. This unprecedented move will have a significant impact on the Church and on the world as a whole in many ways.

Hiader shares what he thinks to to Look for in the next papacy:

In the next month, expect to see the trends in the current state of the Church to play a big role in the choice of the Conclave, the election of a new pope. The most significant trend in the last years of the 20th century into the 21st is the shift of influence on the Church from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern Hemisphere. As North America and Europe are becoming more secularized, experiencing a steepening decline in religious belief, South America, Africa and Southeast Asia are growing steadily, and their livelier worship, steeped in the cultures of their countries, are having an influence on the culture and character of the Church.

… The theme of Benedict’s papacy has been a struggle against the “dictatorship of relativism,” a term that is reactive not only to European secularism but also to the liberalized members of the Church who are reactive to the concerns of the modern secular culture. The Church will seek someone in Benedict’s tradition of steadfast guardianship of the Church’s firmly held beliefs.

Finally, the Church will need a great communicator. Part of the reason John Paul II was such a breath of fresh air to the Church and to the world was not that his ideas were unorthodox, but that he found a way to make orthodoxy look cool. The future pope will be expected to be an assertive preacher of the Gospel without coming off as prudish or condemnatory. I anticipate a pope with a cheerful public disposition and an intelligence that is accessible and attractive to all people.