Changing of the guard

Castel Gandolfo's main entrance

Precisely at the stroke of 8:00pm tonight, the Swiss Guards, who are charged with the duty of protecting the Holy Father, retired from Castel Gandolfo in a simple but moving ceremony.  The doors of the palace were closed and the Swiss Guards hung up their halberds (spears) and the Vatican Gendarmerie took up patrol.

In this simple ceremony, the symbolic handover was made so that the security of the guest now staying at Castel Gandolfo, who has referred to himself as a simple pilgrim, might be assured.

The closing of the doors marked the end of the working day, and also the end of the Pontificate of His Holiness, Benedict XVI, now known as Pope Emeritus.

His Holiness will remain as a guest at Castel Gandolfo until the upcoming Conclave is complete, and the newly chosen Pope has been installed.  He will then move into the Mater Ecclesiae monastery located in the gardens of Vatican City, where he will live along with His Excellency, Georg Ganswein and the German Sisters who have lived with him for the past eight years in the Papal apartments.

Mater ecclesiae monastery

The period of sede vacante began at 8:00pm local time in Rome (2:00pm EST) today, and will continue until the new Pontiff is elected.

It is expected that His Eminence, Angelo Cardinal Sodano, Dean of the College of Cardinals will issue the official invitation to the Cardinals to assemble in Rome for the Conclave, and the meetings to review the necessary proceedures will begin sometime next week.
 

A parting word

Shortly after 5:00pm local time in Rome this afternoon, the last of His Pontificate, the Holy Father Benedict XVI left the Apostolic Palace.  The helecopter left from the Vatican heleport and travelled to Castel Gandolfo where it arrived some fifteen (15) minutes later.

At 5:38pm, the Holy Father appeared on the central balcony of the Apostolic Palace at Castel Gandolfo and spoke to the faithful of the Diocese of Albano gathered in the courtyard below.  These were his final words of greeting:

Thank you. Thank you all.

Dear Friends,

I am happy to be with you, surrounded by the beauty of Creation and your well wishes, which do me such good. Thank you for your friendship and your affection. [applause] … You know that this day is different for me than the preceding ones. I am no longer the Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church, or I will be until 8:00 this evening and then no longer. I am simply a pilgrim beginning the last leg of his pilgrimage on this earth. But I would still [applause] ... thank you… I would still—with my heart, with my love, with my prayers, with my reflection, and with all my inner strength—like to work for the common good and the Good of the Church and of humanity. I feel very supported by your kindness. Let us go forward with the Lord for the good of the Church and the world. Thank you. I now wholeheartedly impart [applause] my blessing.

Blessed be God Almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Good night! Thank you all!

My dearest brothers

Here is an unofficial translation of the remarks which were exchanged earlier today between His Holiness, Benedict XVI and his brother Cardinals.

Address of His Holiness, Benedict XVI
Shared with his brother Cardinals
Sala Clementina, Vatican City
Thursday morning, February 28, 2013

With great joy I greet you, and extend to each of you my most cordial greetings.  I wish to thank Cardinal Angelo Sodano who, as always, has managed to interpret and transmit the sentiments of the entire College: Cor ad cor loquitur (in heart-to-heart speech).  Thank you, Your Eminence, with all my heart.  And I wish to say – returning to the reference to the experience of the disciples at Emmaus – that also for me, it has been a great joy to journey with you during these past years, in the light of and the presence of the risen Lord.

As I said yesterday before the thousands of faithful who filled Saint Peter’s Square, your closeness and your counsel have been a great help to me in my ministry.  In these eight years, we have lived some beautiful moment of light which has radiated in the pilgrimage of the Church, with faith and conviction; along with some moments when clouds gathered threateningly in the skies.  We have attempted to serve Christ in his Church with profound and total love, which is the soul of our ministry.  We have given hope, the gift of Christ which alone can illumine the way before us.  Together, we can thank the Lord who strengthens the bonds of communion between us, and together, we pray that he will help us to continue growing in unity, so that the College of Cardinals, which is like an orchestra where diversity – a true expression of the universal Church – will always be attuned to the superior and unanimous harmony.

I would like to leave you a simple thought, which is very heartfelt: a thought about the Church, about her mystery, that represents for all of us – we might say – life’s rationale and passion.  My parting thought is inspired by an expression used by Roman Guardini, written during the year in which the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council were approving the Constitution Lumen Gentium, in his final book, along with a personal commitment from me, since the words of this book are particularly dear to me.  Guardini says: The Church is not an institution devised and constructed with physical materials … but a living reality.  She lives throughout the course of time, becoming like every living being, transformed.  Also, her nature remains always the same, and her heart is Christ.  It seems to me that this is what we experienced, yesterday on the Piazza: we saw that the Church is a living body, enlivened by the Holy Spirit and truly living by the strength of God.  She is in the world but not of the world: she is of God, of Christ, of the Spirit.  I saw it yesterday.  In this, there is also truth in another of Guardini’s expressions: The Church reawakens the soul.  The Church lives, grows and is reawakened in the soul that – like the Virgin Mary – welcomes the Word of God and treasures it through the working of the Holy Spirit; offering to God her body and conscious of her poverty and humility, becoming capable of presenting Christ to the world today.  Throughout the Church, the Mystery of the Incarnation remains always prensent.  Christ continues his pilgrimage throughout the passage of time to all the corners of the world. 

Dear Brothers, let us be always united in this Mystery: in prayer, especially in the daily celebration of the Eucharist; let us continue to serve the Church and all humanity.  This is our joy, which no one can take from us.

 

Before personally greeting each of you, I wish to assure you that I will always be close to you in prayer, especially in these next days, so that you may be fully and completely docile to the workings of the Holy Spirit during the election of the new Pope.  May the Lord point out to you the one who He desires, and through you, through the College of Cardinals, there will also be a future Pope to whom I have already promised my unconditional and reverent obedience.  Having said this, with affection and gratitude, I impart my heartfelt Apostolic Blessing.

Homage to the Holy Father

This morning, on the last day of his Pontificate, the Holy Father, Benedict XVI met with the Cardinals present in Rome to express his gratitude for their assistance during his years of service as Supreme Pontiff.

Before His Holiness addressed the Cardinals, he was greeted by His Eminence, Angelo Cardinal Sodano, Dean of the College of Cardinals.  His Eminence spoke the following words on behalf of all his brother Cardinals:

Address to the Holy Father
presented by Cardinal Angelo Sodano
Dean of the College of Cardinals

Holy Father,

With great trepidation, the Cardinal Fathers present in Rome gather around you today, to demonstrate to you once more their profound affection and to express their profound gratitude for your testimony of selfless apostolic service, for the good of the Church of Christ and of all humanity.

Last Saturday, at the conclusion of the Spiritual Exercises in the Vatican, Your Holiness wished to thank Your Collaborators in the Roman Curia, using these appropriate words: My friends, I wish to thank you all not only for this past week, but for these eight years, during which you have carried with me, with extreme competence, affection, love and faith, the weight of the Petrine ministry.

Beloved and venerable Successor of Peter, it is we who must thank you for the example which you have given during these eight years of Pontificate.  On the 19^th of April 2005 You inserted yourself in the long line of Successors of the Apostle Peter and today, February 28, 2013, you are preparing to leave it, anticipating that the rudder of the Barque of Peter will pass into other hands.  In this way, the apostolic succession which the Lord promised to his Church will continue until the time when the voice of the Angel of the Apocalypse proclaims: Tempus non erit amplius … consummabitur mysterium Dei  (Rev 10:6-7);  There will be no more delay! … the mystery of God will be accomplished.  In this way, the history of the Church will come to an end, together with the history of the world, with the arrival of new heavens and a new earth.

Holy Father, with profound love we have wished to accompany you during your journey, reliving the experience of the disciples on the road to Emmaus, who after having walked with Jesus for a certain length of time, said to one another: Did not our hearts burn within us as he spoke to us on the road? (Lk 24:32).

Yes Holy Father, this wisdom also burned in our hearts as we walked along this road with You during these last eight years.  Today, we wish to once more express to you our heartfelt gratitude.

With all our hearts, we repeat today a well-known expression from your beloved homeland: Vergelt’s Gott!  May God reward you!

The day of goodbye

This morning in the Vatican, His Holiness, Benedict XVI will meet the Cardinals who are resident in Rome as well as those who have already arrived in Rome in the past days.  This will be a private meeting, barred from the cameras and from public view, an opportunity for him to speak candidly with the Princes of the Church who he referred to just yesterday as his dear brothers.

In the later part of the afternoon, the Holy Father will make his way to the Vatican heliport where he will bid farewell to His Eminence, Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, his Secretary of State as well as His Eminence, Angelo Cardinal Sodano, the Dean of the College of Cardinals.

The Pope will then fly to the Apostolic palace in Castel Gandolfo were he will be received by His Eminence, Giuseppe Cardinal Bertello, President of the Governatorate of the Vatican City State (the office responsible for the general maintenance and running of the Vatican; and His Excellency, Giuseppe Sciacca, Secretary General of the Governatorate.  Also in attendance at Castel Gandalfo for the welcoming ceremony will be His Excellency, Marcello Semeraro, Bishop of Albano and various civil authorities of Castel Gandalfo.  The Holy Father will then greet the faithful from the balcony of the Apostolic palace, just as he would normally do during the Summer recess when he presided over the General Audiences which sometimes took place there.

At 8:00pm local time, when the period of Sede Vacante officially begins, the Swiss Guards who are assigned to protect the Roman Pontiff will retire and return to the Vatican.  The responsibility for the safety of the Pontiff Emeritus will then fall to the Vatican Gendarmerie.

As of the commencement of the Sede Vacante, His Holiness will no longer wear the Fisherman's ring.  Instead, he will wear an episcopal ring.  The task of destroying the Fisherman's ring along with the lead seal which has been used to officially mark the decrees of this Pontificate will be entrusted to the Cardinal Camerlengo, His Eminence, Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone and his assistants.

When the period of Sede Vacante begins, all the officials of the Holy See will effectively loose their appointed positions, with the exception of the Cardinal Camerlengo who assumes responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the Holy See until the election of the new Roman Pontiff.

After the death or resignation of a pope, the Holy See becomes sede vacante.  In particular the vacant diocese is that of Rome.  While the Bishops of all other Dioceses in the Church are named by the Pope, the process for providing for the See of Rome is entrusted to the Cardinals who will meet in conclave (literally translated as with key, as in locked with a key) to elect the next Roman Pontiff.


According to Universi Dominici Gregis, the government of the Holy See sede vacante (and therefore of the Catholic Church) falls to the College of Cardinals, but in a very limited capacity. At the same time, all of the heads of the Roman Curia resign their offices. The exceptions are the Cardinal Camerlengo, who is charged with managing the property of the Holy See, and the Major Penitentiary, His Eminence, Manuel Cardinal Monteiro de Castro who continues to exercise his normal role. If either has to do something which normally requires the assent of the Pope, he has to submit it to the College of Cardinals. Papal Nuncios and other representatives continue to exercise their diplomatic roles overseas, and both the Vicar General of Rome, His Eminence, Agostino Cardinal Vallini and the Vicar General for the Vatican City State, His Eminence, Angelo Cardinal Comastri continue to exercise their pastoral role during this period. The postal administration of the Vatican City State prepares and issues special postage stamps for use during this particular period, known as "sede vacante stamps".

The coat of arms of the Holy See also changes during this period. Instead of the papal tiara over the keys, the tiara is replaced with the umbraculum. This symbolizes both the lack of a Pope and also the governance of the Camerlengo over the temporalities of the Holy See. As further indication, the Camerlengo ornaments his coat of arms with this symbol during this period, which he subsequently removes once a pope is elected. The arms of the Camerlengo appear on commemorative Vatican Euro coins minted during this period, which are legal tender in all Eurozone member states.

It is expected that the Dean of the College of Cardinals will officially issue the invitation for all the Cardinals to gather in Rome as early as Friday of this week.  Next week, there will most probably be a series of meetings during which the assembled Cardinals will review the details and rules of participating in a Conclave and the Conclave of 2013 will begin shortly thereafter.  The Cardinals themselves will decide on the date for the beginning of the Conclave to elect the 265th Successor of Peter.

A fond farewell

At the conclusion of the General Audience today, the Holy Father addressed words of greeting to the gathered crowd in twelve languages.  Here is the text of the English greeting; others can be found on the Vatican's website.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I offer a warm and affectionate greeting to the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors who have joined me for this, my last General Audience. Like Saint Paul, whose words we heard earlier, my heart is filled with thanksgiving to God who ever watches over his Church and her growth in faith and love, and I embrace all of you with joy and gratitude.

During this Year of Faith, we have been called to renew our joyful trust in the Lord’s presence in our lives and in the life of the Church. I am personally grateful for his unfailing love and guidance in the eight years since I accepted his call to serve as the Successor of Peter. I am also deeply grateful for the understanding, support and prayers of so many of you, not only here in Rome, but also throughout the world.

The decision I have made, after much prayer, is the fruit of a serene trust in God’s will and a deep love of Christ’s Church. I will continue to accompany the Church with my prayers, and I ask each of you to pray for me and for the new Pope. In union with Mary and all the saints, let us entrust ourselves in faith and hope to God, who continues to watch over our lives and to guide the journey of the Church and our world along the paths of history.

I commend all of you, with great affection, to his loving care, asking him to strengthen you in the hope which opens our hearts to the fullness of life that he alone can give. To you and your families, I impart my blessing. Thank you!

God guides the Church and sustains her always

Following is an unofficial translation of the Holy Father, Benedict XVIs address to the crowds who gathered in Saint Peter's Square this morning for the weekly General Audience.  This was the final public appearance of the Pontiff before he renounces the Office of Bishop of Rome tomorrow evening (at 8:00pm local time in Rome).

At that time, the period of Sede Vacante will begin.

Address of His Holiness, Benedict XVI

For the General Audience held in Saint Peter’s Square
Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Venerable Brothers in the Episcopacy and the Presbyterate!
Distinguished authorities!
Dear brothers and sisters!

I thank you for having come in such great numbers to this, my last General Audience.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!  I am truly touched!  I see in you the Church alive!  And I think that I must also say thank you to the Creator for the beautiful weather that we are enjoying in this Wintertime.

Like the Apostle Paul in the biblical text which we have just heard, I also feel in my heart that I must above all thank God who guides the Church and calls us to believe, who sows his Word and with it, feeds his people.  In this moment, my soul reaches out and embraces all the Church in all parts of the world; and I give thanks to God for the news which throughout these years of the Petrine ministry I have received about the faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and about the charity that is truly evident throughout the Body of the Church which makes her live by love, and about the hope which keeps her always open to and focused on life in all its fullness, as we journey toward the Heavenly homeland.

 

I feel that I am being carried in prayer, in the presence of God, where I can recall every encounter, every voyage, every pastoral visit.  I remember each and every one of you in prayer and commend you to the Lord, for we are fully award of His will, with all wisdom and spiritual intellect, and why we can live in a manner worthy of Him, of his love, which bears fruit in every good work (cf Col 1:9-10).

At this moment, I have within me great trust because I know, we all know that the word of truth which we read in the Gospel is the power of the Church, the source of her life.  The Gospel purifies and renews, bears fruit.  In it, the community of believers hears about and draws the grace of God, the source of truth and of charity.  This is my trust, this is my joy.

When, on April 19, almost eight years ago, I accepted and assumed the Petrine ministry, I was filled with a firm conviction which has always accompanied me:  belief in the life of the Church and in the word of God.  Now, as I have expressed many times before, the words that resonate in my heart are: Lord, why are you asking this of me and what are you asking? The weight that you place on my shoulders is great, but if you have asked it of me, at your request I will put out the nets, knowing that You will always guide me, even with all my faults.  Eight years afterwards, I can say that the Lord has guided me, has always been close to me.  I have been aware of his presence with me every day.  Throughout these past years, there have been moments of joy and light, but also some difficult moments; I felt like Saint Peter with the Apostles in the boat on the Sea of Galilee: the Lord has provided many days of sun and of light breezes, days in which the fishing was abundant; there were also moments in which the waters were rough and the winds were contrary.  As it has been throughout the history of the Church, it seemed at such moments that the Lord was sleeping.  But I have always known that in this boat the Lord is present and I have always known that the Barque of the Church is not mine; it does not belong to us, it is His.  And the Lord will not allow it to fail, he guides it, certainly He does so through the men that he has chosen, because this is how he wants it to be.  This was and is a certainty that nothing can obscure. And this is why today my heart is filled with gratitude to the Lord because he has never left the Church or me without the gift of his consolation, his light and his love.

We are in the midst of the Year of Faith, which I called in order to strengthen our faith in God, in the midst of a world that often puts Him in second place.  I wish to invite everyone to renew your trust in God, to trust him like children in the arms of God, confident that his arms will always support us and allow us to walk every day, even when we are tired.  I wish that everyone should know that he or she is loved by God who has given his Son for us and has demonstrated his boundless love.  I wish that everyone should know the joy of being Christian.  In a beautiful prayer which is repeated every morning, it says: I adore you O God, and I love you with all my heart.  I thank you for having created me and for having made me Christian …  Yes, we are thankful for the gift of faith; it is the most precious gift, which no one can take from us!  Let us give thanks to the Lord every day for this gift with prayer and with a Christian life consistent with this belief.  God loves us, but He waits for us also to love Him!

 I wish not only to thank God at this time.  A Pope is not alone in his responsibility of guiding the Barque of Peter, even if this is his primary responsibility I have never felt alone in carrying the joy and the weight of the Petrine ministry.  The Lord has placed me near to many people who with generosity and love for God and for the Church, have helped me and have always been close to me.  And so to all of you, dear Brother Cardinals, your wisdom, your counsel and your friendship have been precious to me; my Collaborators, including my Secretary of State who has accompanied me faithfully throughout these years; the Secreatriat of State and the entire Roman Curia, likewise all those who in various ways have served the Holy See: so many times you gave of yourselves so generously, working in the shadows, tuly in silence with daily dedication, with a spirit of faith and humility.  You have been for me a constant source of secure and reliable support.  A special thought is reserved for the Church of Rome, my Diocese!  I can never forget my Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Presbyterate, consecrated persons and the entire People of God: through pastoral visits, through gatherings, though audiences and travels, I have always known and appreciated your attentiveness and your profound affection; but also I have loved you all, without distinction, with the pastoral care that is at the heart of every Shepherd, above all that of the Bishop of Rome, the Successor of the Apostle Peter.  Every day I have carried you in prayer, with a father’s love.

I express a special greeting and my gratitude to everyone: the heart of a Pope reaches out to the entire world.  I wish to express my gratitude to the members of the Diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, who make present here the great family of Nations.  I think also of all those who work to ensure good communications, and I thank them for their important service.
At this time, I wish to express my heartfelt thanks to all the numerous persons throughout the world who during these last weeks have sent me moving messages of their affection, of friendship and of prayer.  Yes, the Pope is never alone; I have witnessed this truth once again in such a heartfelt way.  The Pope belongs to everyone and many people feel close to him.  It is true that I have received letters from the important people of the world – from Heads of State, from Religious leaders, from representatives of the world of culture etc. but I have also received countless letters from simple people who have written in simple words, from their hearts and told me of their affection, born out of the union we share in Christ in the Church.  These people do not write as they might write to a prince or someone who they do not know.  They write as brothers and sisters or as sons and daughters, with a sense of familiar and affectionate connection.  Here I can see and even touch the heart of the Church – not a religious or humanitarian organization or an association but a living body, a communion of brothers and sisters in the Body of Jesus Christ, who together are one.  To test the Church in this way and to see in this the strength of her truth and of her love is cause for great joy, in a time when so many speak of her decline.  See how the Church is alive today!

For the last few months, I have felt my physical strength diminish, and I asked the Lord insistently in prayer to guide me with His light so that I might make the decision that is right, not for my own good, but for the good of the Church.  I have made this decision with full knowledge of the gravity which it carries, but with a profound serenity of heart.  To love the Church means also to have the courage to make difficult choices, to suffer, to hold before us always the good of the Church and not our own interests.

Allow me now to return once more to April 19, 2005.  The serious nature of that decision was evident in the fact that from that moment onward I have been pledged always and forever to the Lord.  Always – the one who assumes the Petrine ministry never has any more privacy.  He belongs always and entirely to everyone, to the entire Church.  From that moment on, all semblance of privacy is forever and always removed.  I have tested this theory, and I learn from this experience even now that one receives life precisely when it is given.  As I said before, many people who love the Lord love also the Successor of Peter and  are kind to him; that the Pope truly has brothers and sisters, sons and daughters throughout the entire world, and that he is aware of their communal embrace; because he no longer belongs to himself, he belongs to all and all belong to him.

The always is also a forever – there is no more return to the private.  My decision to renounce the active exercise of the ministry doesn’t revoke it.  I do not return to a private life, to a life of travels, meetings, receptions, conferences etc.  I am not abandoning the cross, but staying in a new way close to the Crucified Lord.  I will no longer carry the power of Office to govern the Church, but in the service of prayer, I will remain, so to speak, within the walls of St. Peter’s.  Saint Benedict, whose name I bear as Pope, will provide for me a great example of this.  He himself showed the way to live a life which, active or passive, belongs totally to the work of God.

 

I thank each and everyone also for the respect and understanding with which you have welcomed this very important decision.  I will continue to accompany the Church with the same prayer, reflection and dedication to the Lord and to His Spouse as I have tried to live daily until the present, and which I pray I may continue always.  I ask that you remember me before the Lord, and above all that you pray for the Cardinals, called to accomplish such an important task, and for the new Successor of the Apostle Peter: that the Lord may accompany them with the light and strength of his Spirit.

Let us invoke the maternal intercession of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God and of the Church, that she may accompany every one of us and the entire ecclesial community; to Whom we entrust ourselves with profound faith.

Dear friends!  God guides His Church and sustains her always, particularly in difficult moments.  Don’t ever lose this vision of faith, which is the only true vision of the pilgrimage of the Church and of the world.  In our heart, in the heart of each one here, rests the joyous certitude that the Lord is near and will never abandon us.  He is close to us and envelops us with his love.  Thank you!

Thank you

This morning, the Holy Father presided over his final General Audience in Saint Peter's Square.  In attendance were approximately 150,000 of the faithful from many various parts of the world.

Arriving in the pope-mobile, the Holy Father travelled through the crowd, stopping at various moments to hold and bless chiildren.

The audience followed its normal outline, beginning with the liturgical greeting and then followed by the reading of an exerpt from Saint Paul's letter to the Collosians.  In twelve different languages, the Holy Father addressed the faithful gathered in the Square, and by means of television, radio and internet, in many other parts of the world.

He spoke affectionately and with great gratitude for the many greetings which he has received over the past weeks.  Unlike a corporate persona, he knows that the Church is a family of peoples.  The greetings he has received are from Heads of State but equally from simple, ordinary people who have spoken with simple and convincing words of faith.  For all this, he spoke of profound gratitude.

He spoke of his constant understanding that the Church never belonged to him, or to any human being, but that it belongs to the Lord.  It is the Lord who accompanies us, who guides us, who waits for us to respond.  Always and forever, the one who takes on the Petrine ministry lives a very public life.  He has no more privacy.  As a result, beginning tomorrow evening, Benedict is not abandoning the Church but rather taking on a new phase of his ministry.  While he will no longer be responsible for administrative decisions, he will always carry the well-being of the Church in his heart as he lives a life of prayer and meditation for the good of the Church.

At times during this audience, His Holiness smiled.  His face portrayed a deep serenity too, perhaps an echo of the knowledge within him that this moment is one in which he continues to respond to the Lord's call for him to enter into a new phase of his life, but to continue his life of service.  He knows that the Church is first and foremost the Lord's, and as such, calls all the faithful to realize that our life of faith is based on a personal relationship with Jesus. 

In times of great fortune, the Lord is present to the Church.  In times when it seems that He is silent, he is merely waiting for us to respond, to return, to be present to Him and to allow Him to be present to us.

Now that the General Audience is complete, the Holy Father will proceed to the Clemetine Hall where he will meet with the President of the Republic of Slovakia; the Regent Captains of the Republic of San Marino; the President of the Free State of Bavaria; and the Co-Prince of Andorra.

Tomorrow, prior to his departure for Castel Gandolfo, His Holiness will meet informally with the Cardinals who are present in Rome.  These immediate collaborators are in a sense his family members, so it is right that he wishes to express his gratitude, most likely in individual adresses to each of them.

The same, but different

As of 8:01pm local time on Thursday evening of this week, the Holy Father, Benedict XVI will be known as Pope Emeritus or Roman Pontiff Emeritus.  Father Frederico Lombardi, SJ, the Director of the Vatican's Press Office provided this clarification today at a press conference held at the Vatican.

The Roman Pontiff Emeritus will wear a white cassock but will not wear the mozzetta (the elbow-length cape which he has worn over the cassock until now).  Benedict XVI will also wear simple brown shoes which were given to him during his Apostolic visit to Leon, Mexico last year, instead of the ruby shoes he has worn during his Pontificate.

Following the conclusion of tomorrow morning's General Audience, the Holy Father will meet with several local and international dignitaries (including the presidents of Slovakia and Bavaria, and the co-prince of Andorra in the Salla Clementina in the Vatican.

His Holiness will not use the Fisherman's ring (which he has worn throughout his pontificate) after Thursday.  Instead he will wear a simpler episcopal ring.  The Fisherman's Ring and the lead seal of this pontificate will be destroyed by the Cardinal Camerlengo (His Eminence, Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone) and his assistants.

After the period of sede vacante begins, the logo on the Vatican website will be changed, and official letters calling the Cardinals to Rome for the Conclave will be dispatched by Cardinal Sodano, the Dean of the College of Cardinals.

Where we stand

On Monday, February 11 of this year, the Liturgical Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, and the World Day of Prayer for the Sick, His Holiness, Benedict XVI surprised the world by revealing that at the end of this month, he will renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Peter entrusted to (him) ... on 19 April 2005.  His Holiness clarified on that day that this act will take effect as of 8:00pm local time in Rome on Thursday of this week.

After providing his reflection on the Transfiguration this past Sunday, February 24, his final Angelus appearance, His Holiness told the gathered crowd:

Dear brothers and sisters, I feel that this word of God is particulary suited to me at this particular time in my life.  Thank you!  The Lord is calling me to 'climb the mountain', to dedicate myself more intensely to prayer and meditation.  But this doesn't mean that I am abandoning the Church; on the contrary, if God is asking this of me, it is precisely because I can continue to serve Him with the same dedication and love with which I have tried to do until now, but in a way more adapted to my age and my strength.  Let us implore the intercession of the Virgin Mary, that she may help us to always follow the Lord in prayer and in acting charitably.

At the conclusion of the recitation of the Angelus, His Holiness addressed the following words in English:

I offer a warm greeting to all the English-speaking visitors present for this Angelus prayer, especially the Schola Cantorum of the London Oratory School. I thank everyone for the many expressions of gratitude, affection and closeness in prayer which I have received in these days.  As we continue our Lenten journey towards Easter, may we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus the Redeemer, whose glory was revealed on the mount of the Transfiguration.  Upon all of you I invoke God’s abundant blessings!

Tomorrow morning, Wednesday, February 27, the Holy Father will preside at the weekly audience in Saint Peter's Square.  The format for the Audience will be the same as all other Audiences, with the exception that there will not be an opportunity for anyone to greet the Holy Father personally at the conclusion of the Audience.  Instead, His Holiness will travel in the pope-mobile around St. Peter's Square before retiring to the Apostolic Palace.

His Holiness will meet with the Cardinals who are currently in Rome on Thursday, although he will not pronounce any official speech.  Following the meeting with the Cardinals, he will travel to Castel Gandolfo where he will remain until the renovations at the monastery on the grounds of Vatican City where he will live, along with his personal secretary, Archbishop Georg Ganswein, who is also the Prefect of the Papal Household.

At present, there are 118 Cardinals elegible to enter the Conclave, although two of them have already indicated that they will be unable to attend, therefore there will be 116 present when the Conclave begins.

South Africa, 10

The longest day - January 26-27, 2013

Summer solstice is usually the longest day of the year, and it is summer in the Southern Hemisphere, however today is the longest day for another reason because we are travelling today and by the time we reach our final ports of call it will be tomorrow afternoon or evening.

The day (Saturday) began at 8:30am local time in Capetown.  I suppose that the local tour company had arranged the schedule in order to keep us all busy for as much of the day as possible, so that we would be ready to sleep oon the flight to Amsterdam when night fell.

Today was all about visiting the Cape.  Throughout history, it was first known as the Cape of Storms, and then later as the Cape of Good Hope, perhaps as an early attempt at enticing potential inhabitants to want to make the 3-month sailing voyage from England or Holland to South Africa.

The virtuous communities along the Cape appear to boast increasing levels of affluence, but the cautious visitor should bear in mind that given the relatively deflated international exchange values, the cost of property in this part of the world is still very affordable compared with other metropolitan centres.

From one community to another, we travelled along the Southwestern shore, all the while enjoying the vistas of the Atlantic  in all her beauty.  The waters surrounding south Africa are home to Cape seals, cormorants, African penguins (a somewhat smaller version of the Emperor which is found only in Antarctica) and during the winter months, the Right Whales which migrate here in order to spawn.

A flotilla of vessels also spoke (as did our tour guide Arie) of the presence of the South African navy which is currently busy protecting the eastern shores of the continent (or at least parts of it) from piracy.

Other stops en route included a nod to Cape Point, sometimes advertised as the confluence of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.  In fact, Cape Point is the Southwesternmost point on the African continent.

Back at the Victoria and Albert Waterfront complex, we were treated to a farewell feast before setting out for the airport.  Unfortunately, this also meant that we had to bid farewell to Arie (our guide) and Johann (our driver), and to South Africa, but not before thanking them for having shared with us their passionate love for their adoptive homeland.

Next step, a 12-hour flight to Amsterdam and then a connecting flight to Toronto (and in some cases beyond).