As reported by the Religious Information Agency (VIA), the pope addressed those present at today's Sunday prayer in Italian, German, Spanish, Polish and English, thanking them for their prayer support and connection during "these difficult and special days" for him.
"Keep praying for me and for the future pope," the pope said.
The Pope especially thanked the Italians for their presence and closeness, and he also thanked the administration of the city of Rome, which was present at the prayer.
At the end of the address, the Pope was escorted out by the ringing of all the bells of St. Peter's Basilica and the long-lasting applause of the faithful.
Those present confirmed that he was completely composed and in good physical and mental condition.
The Pope leaves the Vatican by helicopter
Pope Benedict XVI will leave the Vatican on February 28 at 17 p.m. and will be transferred by helicopter to the papal summer residence Castel Gandolfo, 30 kilometers from Rome.
On that day at 20:XNUMX p.m., as previously announced, his papal function will end and, apart from the title of cardinal, he will once again receive the right to use his name - Jozef Ratzinger.
After the Pope's exit from the quarters where he stayed - the "appartamento" will be sealed, and all his associates - secretary, valet, cook - will leave this building.
The Pope will leave his white clothes and red shoes in the Vatican, because, as it is claimed, there cannot be two masters in white. This was also the case in 1449, when Pope Celestine V retired.
The Religious Information Agency (VIA) announced that the Pope will stay in Castel Gandolfo until "the end of April", which means during the election and enthronement of his successor, and that he will be accompanied by a newly hired valet.
It was announced from Vatican circles that he will not appear in public during that time.
The Pope will be moved from his summer residence to the Mater Ecclesiae monastery in the Vatican Gardens, where renovation work is currently underway. Retired professor of dogmatics Wolfgang Beinert, who is counted among the pope's "close circle," said the pope would no longer "address in public."
He will reportedly be in some kind of "voluntary prison", where he will write books. Beinert believes that the pope's books written after his resignation will be published only after his death. At the same time, he says that if the church continues "the anti-modernist, anti-reformist and regressive course it has been leading for two centuries", then it will continue to lose its importance.
One of the most vocal critics of the papacy, the Catholic theologian Hans King, advocated limiting the age of popes to 75, just as the Second Vatican Council imposed a limit on bishops. "After all, the pope is also the bishop of Rome," he said. King criticizes the decision for Benedict to continue living in the Vatican, because he believes that in this way he will be a "shadow pope".
According to him, Pope Benedict should go to his Bavarian homeland and "she would certainly be happy to accept him".
Vatican sources state that Pope Benedict XVI will be addressed as "Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger" in the future, although "there are no regulations" on this.
He will certainly, when he dies, be buried like other popes in St. Peter's Basilica.
As a retired pope, he will not have a pension. He will have income from published books, which actually go to his endowment, perhaps also an income based on the fact that he was once archbishop of Munich, and before that a professor of theology.
The question is not that important to him, because he looks more into the past than into the future, according to the Vatican.
German media describe the monastery in the Vatican Gardens, where the pope will live, as very comfortable. He will happily walk in the garden, where oranges, lemons, "but also peppers, cabbage" grow. There are also two rose gardens, German media report, adding that "it has never happened that two popes live in the Vatican, one active and one retired."
The Pope's brother Georg (89) does not believe that his brother will ever visit him again in Regensburg, but he will go to the Vatican, that is, a monastery where a room will be arranged for him.
When he retires, after February 28, Benedict will no longer wear white clothes, which are reserved only for the pope, but will dress like other cardinals.
The ring he wore as pope, the so-called "fisherman's ring," will be broken with a hammer, as has been done so far in the event the pope dies, a Vatican representative confirmed.
The possibility that as Cardinal Ratzinger will be left without the Vatican citizenship that he only had while serving as Pope is not ruled out.
However, the media claim that there is no reason to worry, because if he loses the Vatican one, he will retain his German citizenship.
In the future, Cardinal Ratzinger will be signed either as Jozef Ratzinger - Benedikt XVI em. (emeritus - retired) or as pope res. (resignatus- who resigned).
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