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Vatican City: Over 200,000 people gathered at St. Peter's Square in
Vatican City to hear Pope Benedict XVI's final public blessing
before he retires.
"The Lord is calling me to 'climb the mountain', to devote myself
to prayer and meditation," the 85-year-old Pope told the crowd
Sunday as he appeared at the window of his apartment overlooking
the square.
"But this does not mean abandoning the Church. If God is asking me
to do this, it is so because I can continue to serve the Church
with the same dedication and the same love, with which I have done
thus far, but in a way that is better suited to my age and my
strength," he said.
"Thank you for your affection," the Pope added.
Pope Benedict XVI shocked the world earlier this month with the
announcement that he would step down as head of the Catholic
Church Feb 28 due to old age and failing health.
"I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome,
Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19
April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00
hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant,"
Vatican Radio quoted the Pope as saying in a declaration.
"After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have
come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age,
are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine
ministry," he said.
"In today's world, in order to govern the bark of Saint Peter and
proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary,
strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to
the extent that I have had to recognise my incapacity to
adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me," he added.
"A conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be
convoked by those whose competence it is," he said.
Pope Benedict XVI was born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger in Bavaria,
Germany, in 1927. He became the 265th Pope in 2005 following his
predecessor John Paul II's death.
The Pope is spiritual leader of the estimated 1.2 billion
followers of the Catholic Church, according to the Annuario
Pontificio, its annual statistical report.
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