Catholics in Central Texas are as surprised as the rest of the world to hear the retirement of Pope Benedict at the end of this month. Holly is a parishioner at St. Elizabeth's in Pflugerville and says she was sad to hear of him stepping down, but she says it's probably for the best and Benedict will be able to act as a mentor to the next Pope. 

Holly says she was privileged to be in the Holy Father's presence during World Youth Day in Madrid last year. She says the message to other Catholics needs to be that even though it's an extremely rare event, the Pope's resignation is O.K. for the Church. This is the first Pope in modern times to step down. It's been 600 years since it happened. 

Holly says she's excited to see who the next Pope will be and is hoping to meet the new Holy Father during World Youth Day this summer. Church officials say they're hoping to have a new Pope installed by Easter.