New chapter for Pope Francis after death of Benedict XVI

VATICAN CITY: With the death of Benedict XVI, Pope Francis enters a new phase of his papacy free from the constraints of co-existing with a predecessor, but conservative criticism of his reforms may not end.

For the first time since his 2013 election, the Argentine pontiff is squarely at the helm of the Catholic Church and its 1.3 billion faithful without another man in white — former pope Benedict XVI — also at the Vatican.