POPE Benedict's shock resignation came like "like a lightning bolt in a clear blue sky'' according to one of his senior cardinals.

Then, just hours after the Pontiff dropped the bombshell that he no longer had the health and vigour to carry out his duties as leader of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics, a freak thunderstorm swept over Rome and a lighting bolt struck the basilica of St.Peter's dome.

Thunderstorms are not unknown in winter, but they are more likely to hit the celestial city in spring or summer, which makes the lightning strike even more unusual.

Photographer Filippo Monteforte was in the right place at the right time to capture an image that could be construed as a sign from God.

As Psalm 29 says: "The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning."

Originally published as A sign? Lightning strikes Vatican