A Belgian cardinal, Godfried Danneels, called it "almost his goodbye to Lourdes and maybe also to his life".There is another indication that the pontiff is preparing for the end: his increasingly determined push for reconciliation between Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians, who have been formally divided for almost a millennium.
But a combination of booming commodity exports, a determined push for the empowerment of the least privileged sectors of the society, a heterodox approach to macroeconomics, a global charm-offensive transforming Brazil into a new force on the international stage, and a personal charisma of no parallel helped Lula to overcome powerful setbacks during his earlier years in office.
People just surged one way or another, the most determined pushing through to their destinations.
But this time, he said, he headed for Belgrade determined to push for a confrontation.
But the MP for Hemsworth, who was instrumental in Ed Miliband's rise to Labour leadership and the first MP to publicly nominate Jeremy Corbyn for leader, says he is determined to push for greater equality.
Pakistan's rival political leaders seem determined to push their already unstable country over a cliff.
Mr. Medvedev and Mr. Putin now seem determined to push their way to the top of Mr. Obama's very crowded agenda.
Turkey's politically meddlesome generals seem determined to push their country into crisis by thwarting democratic solutions to its problems.
Sikh leaders cite an additional reason for their push.
The UK government is committed to working towards this aim". When challenged on the steps they were taking, Cable's Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) said the government was "determined to push for the reduction of these subsidies in Europe and beyond", and was pushing for an end to the Doha talks to remove limit protectionism and remove trade barriers.
Pope Benedict appeared determined to push through their canonisation, in December authorising the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate a decree attributing a miracle to the intercession of the men – a crucial step towards sainthood.
