Pope Benedict bids final public farewell

Pope Benedict said a final public farewell on Thursday before his pontificate ends, telling a crowd in front of his temporary residence outside Rome that he was preparing to enter the last phase of his life.

"As you know today is different to previous ones. I will only be the supreme pontiff of the Catholic Church until 8 p.m. (1900 GMT/ 2 p.m. ET)," he said.

"After that I will simply be a pilgrim who is starting the last phase of his pilgrimage on this earth."

Pope Benedict left the Vatican on Thursday and headed to the papal summer residence where he will become the first pontiff in six centuries to resign instead of ruling for life.
   
A white Italian air force helicopter lifted off from the Vatican's heliport to fly the 85-year-old pope to Castel Gandolfo, just south of Rome, where at 8 p.m. (1900 GMT) he will resign and leave the papacy vacant.
   
Before boarding the helicopter,  Benedict said goodbye to monsignors, Vatican staff and Swiss guards in the San Damaso courtyard of the Holy See's apostolic  palace.
   
Cardinals will start preparatory meetings on Friday to decide when to start a conclave to elect a new pope.

Pope Benedict XVI promised his "unconditional reverence and obedience" to his successor on Thursday in a poignant and powerful farewell speech to cardinals delivered hours before he becomes the first pontiff in 600 years to resign.
    
In an unexpected address inside the Vatican's frescoed Clementine Hall, the pope appeared to be trying to defuse concerns about his future role and the possible conflicts arising from the peculiar situation of having both a reigning pope and a retired one.
    
Benedict also gave a final set of instructions to the "princes" of the church who will elect his successor, urging them to be united as they huddle to choose the 266th leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.
    
"May the College of Cardinals work like an orchestra, where diversity  an expression of the universal church  always works toward a higher and harmonious agreement," he said.
    
It was seen as a clear reference to the deep internal divisions that have come to the fore in recent months following the leaks of sensitive Vatican documents that exposed power struggles and allegations of corruption inside the Vatican.
     
The moment inside the Apostolic Palace was as unique as Benedict's decision to quit, with the 85-year-old pope, wearing his crimson velvet cape and using a cane, bidding farewell to his closest advisers and the cardinals themselves bowing to kiss his fisherman's ring for the last time.
     
Some seemed to choke up at that moment, and a few lingered on to chat with the pope for as long as they could. But the scene seemed otherwise almost normal, with cardinals chatting on the sidelines waiting their turn to say goodbye.
     
It was Benedict's last formal audience inside the Vatican and came hours before he was due to depart Vatican City and fly by helicopter to the papal residence at Castel Gandolfo where at 8 p.m. his resignation becomes official.
     
Benedict said he would pray for the cardinals in coming days as they discuss the issues facing the church, the qualities needed in a new pope, and prepare to enter into the secret conclave to elect him.
     
"Among you is also the future pope, whom I today promise my unconditional reverence and obedience," Benedict told the cardinals.
     
Benedict's decision to live at the Vatican in retirement, be called "emeritus pope" and "Your Holiness" and wear the white cassock associated with the papacy has deepened concerns about the shadow he might cast over the next papacy.
    
But Benedict has tried to address those worries over the past two weeks, saying that once retired he would be "hidden from the world" and living a life of prayer.
     
In his final speech in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday, he said he wasn't returning to private life exactly, but rather to a new form of service to the church through prayer.
     
And on Thursday he went even further with his own public pledge of obedience to the new pontiff.
     
The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said the pope's pledge was in keeping with this effort to "explain how he intends to live this unprecedented situation of an emeritus pope."
     
"He has no intention of interfering in the position or the decisions or the activity of his successor," Lombardi said. "But as every member of the church, he says fully that he recognizes the authority of the supreme pastor of the church who will be elected to succeed him."
     
The issue of papal obedience is important for Benedict. In his last legal document, he made new provisions for cardinals to make a formal, public pledge of obedience to the new pope at his installation Mass, in addition to the private one they traditionally make inside the Sistine Chapel immediately after he is elected.
     
At 8 p.m. sharp, Benedict will become the first pontiff in 600 years to resign. The Swiss Guards standing at attention will go into the palazzo and shut the doors behind them and go off duty, their service protecting the head of the Catholic Church over  for now.
     
Lombardi said the guards would change into civilian clothes and return to the Vatican barracks Thursday night. They will continue to guard the entrances of Vatican City and the pope's palace, "even if he's not there," said Cpl. Urs Breitenmoser, a Swiss Guard spokesman.
    
And on Monday, the cardinals are expected to begin meeting to set the date for the conclave.


AP

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