By NICOLE WINFIELD and FRANCES D'EMILIO
Associated Press
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (AP) - Benedict XVI greeted
the faithful for the last time as pope on Thursday, telling tearful
well-wishers that he is beginning the final stage of his life as "simply
a pilgrim," hours before he becomes the first pontiff in 600 years to
resign.
The pope's journey into retirement began with an
emotion-drenched sendoff from the Vatican, with Swiss Guards in full
regalia standing in attention and prelates kneeling to kiss the papal
ring - Benedict's closest aide weeping by his side.
Bells tolled as the pope left the Vatican by
helicopter and circled St. Peter's Square, where banners reading "Thank
You" were held up skyward for him to see. The bells tolled anew as he
arrived in Castel Gandolfo, whose central piazza was jammed with people
eager to catch the last glimpse of Benedict as pope.
His arms raised, the aging Benedict appeared at the
balcony of the palazzo where he will spend the first few months of his
retirement. The crowds cheering wildly, he said he was happy to be
"surrounded by the beauty of creation" on this unique day.
As of 8 p.m., he said to applause, he would no longer be pope.
"I am simply a pilgrim beginning the last leg of
his pilgrimage on this Earth," Benedict said, as well-wishers wiped
tears from their eyes.
Benedict, 85, reached out to the wider world
electronically, sending a final tweet from his Twitter account,
(at)Pontifex, shortly before his departure from the Vatican: "Thank you
for your love and support. May you always experience the joy that comes
from putting Christ at the centre of your lives."
The day began with Benedict's final audience with
his cardinals, where he pledged his "unconditional reverence and
obedience" to his successor, a poignant and powerful message to close
out his eight-year pontificate.
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 audience inside the Apostolic Palace was as
unique as Benedict's decision to quit, with the 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.
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 as they 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.
Benedict's resignation will be a moment of quiet theater.
At 8 p.m. sharp, the Swiss Guards standing at
attention at Castel Gandolfo 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.
Benedict's decision has been met for the most part
with praise and understanding. Cardinals, Vatican officials and ordinary
Catholics have rallied around him in acknowledgment of his frail state
and the church's need for a strong leader.
But Sydney Cardinal George Pell has caused a stir
by openly saying the resignation has been "slightly destabilizing" for
the church.
In an interview with Australian Broadcasting Corp.,
Pell noted that Benedict himself had acknowledged the shift in
tradition; Benedict said Wednesday that he appreciated his decision was
not only serious but "a novelty" for the church.
Pell also said the church was in sore need of a
strong manager - comments echoed by several cardinals who have noted the
30-year reign of two popes who paid scant attention to the internal
governance of the church.
The Vatican tried to downplay Pell's comments,
saying it wouldn't respond to individual cardinals and urging the media
not to take advantage of churchmen who, it said, aren't necessarily
media savvy.
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Winfield reported from Vatican City.
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Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield
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