Pope plans retreat on election anniversary

Vatican City: Pope Francis will be on a spiritual retreat with his top aides for the first anniversary of his election, which will be held in a small town outside Rome in a break with tradition, the Vatican said on Thursday.

The Lenten retreats hosted by popes with the Roman Curia, the central administration of the Catholic Church, are usually held inside the Vatican. The retreat will last from March 9 to March 14, with March 13 marking one year since Jorge Mario Bergoglio`s momentous election by his fellow cardinals after his predecessor Benedict XVI stepped down. Outlining the pope`s agenda over the next few months, the Vatican also said that the canonisation ceremony to confer sainthood on late popes John Paul II and John XXIII would be held on St Peter`s Square on April 27.