Long ago, a childhood friend and I were walking across an old wooden bridge in the small town where we lived when a car stopped to offer us a ride. The local priest was at the wheel.

Sixty years ago — on Oct. 28, 1958 — Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was elected pope, taking the name Pope John XXIII.  His coronation Nov. 4 lasted five hours, filled with all the pomp and ceremony that accompanied the position at that time. Here’s The Register’s account of that historic day:

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VATICAN – Pope Francis attended the funeral Mass and presided over the final commendation of Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the French cardinal who led the Vatican's outreach to other religions and who had announced to the world his election as pope five years ago.

I was surprised at how well Wim Wenders summarized the first five years of Pope Francis’  pontificate in his latest documentary, Pope Francis: A Man of His Word. In the end, it truly deepened my admiration for Pope Francis. 

OTTAWA – Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the highest-ranking Canadian in the Roman Curia, marked his 50th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood May 25 at a Mass of celebration in Rome.

VATICAN CITY – Leading Catholic and Orthodox bishops were meeting in Italy to continue discussions on the key issue keeping their Churches apart: the role of the bishop of Rome, the pope.

VATICAN CITY – While retired Pope Benedict XVI said organization and governance are not his strong suits, he also said, "I am unable to see myself as a failure."

VATICAN CITY – The life of Pope John Paul I is not a closed chapter in the history of the popes but a reminder of the church's mission to serve with simplicity, said Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state.

VATICAN CITY – Retired Pope Benedict XVI said in an interview that he felt a "duty" to resign from the papacy because of his declining health and the rigorous demands of papal travel.

VATICAN CITY – In his first public address in almost a year, retired Pope Benedict XVI expressed his sincere gratefulness to Pope Francis, saying that his goodness "from the first moment of your election, in every moment of my life here, touches me deeply."

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Pope Francis has rebranded the Catholic Church and the papacy, and the media have taken notice.

Two years ago the demands of office caused a tired Pope Benedict XVI to resign the papacy. He was 85. Now we have Pope Francis, 78, musing about a short pontificate as he begins his third year on the job.

I had the pleasure this past week of hosting George Weigel, one of the Church’s leading public intellectuals, in Toronto and Kingston. I had long wanted to host Weigel, a mentor and friend and colleague for more than 20 years, and thought that 2015, the 10th anniversary of the death of St. John Paul II, would be the perfect year to do it.

VATICAN CITY - When Pope Francis went out onto the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica for the first time, he said he did not prepare what he was going to say, but "I felt deeply that a minister needs the blessing of God, but also of his people."

NEW YORK - Was there a secret plot to elect Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio at the papal conclave last year? Did Bergoglio — who became Pope Francis at that conclave — give the go-ahead to such a plan? And does that campaign call his election, and his papacy, into question?