This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/13/pope-benedict-fans-believers-farewell-tour
The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Che bello! Pope Benedict's fans and believers assemble for farewell tour | |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| Into the golden basilica of St Peter they crammed: pilgrims with bibles, tourists with guidebooks, teenagers with smartphones, mothers with toddlers; seminarians and Swiss Guards; nuns and non-believers; babies, pensioners and priests. | Into the golden basilica of St Peter they crammed: pilgrims with bibles, tourists with guidebooks, teenagers with smartphones, mothers with toddlers; seminarians and Swiss Guards; nuns and non-believers; babies, pensioners and priests. |
| Lorena Cerbara, a middle-aged Italian sitting among the thousands, had left work early to come on Ash Wednesday to see the man whose photograph she lovingly held in her hand. "Che bello [how beautiful!]," she smiled, wistfully. It was her last chance, she explained, to be blessed by Pope Benedict XVI. | Lorena Cerbara, a middle-aged Italian sitting among the thousands, had left work early to come on Ash Wednesday to see the man whose photograph she lovingly held in her hand. "Che bello [how beautiful!]," she smiled, wistfully. It was her last chance, she explained, to be blessed by Pope Benedict XVI. |
| Leading his final public mass as head of the Roman Catholic church, the 85-year-old pontiff processed slowly down the aisle of St Peter's on the mobile platform which, for some time, had become a sign of his increasing frailty. Bedecked in violet vestments to mark the beginning of Lent, he looked serene as he followed a procession of purple-clad cardinals. | Leading his final public mass as head of the Roman Catholic church, the 85-year-old pontiff processed slowly down the aisle of St Peter's on the mobile platform which, for some time, had become a sign of his increasing frailty. Bedecked in violet vestments to mark the beginning of Lent, he looked serene as he followed a procession of purple-clad cardinals. |
| "One of them could be the next pope," said Cerbara in a stage whisper. She was not the only one thinking that. But, for now, all eyes were on Benedict. | "One of them could be the next pope," said Cerbara in a stage whisper. She was not the only one thinking that. But, for now, all eyes were on Benedict. |
| "Circumstances suggested we gather in St Peter's Basilica," said the outgoing pope in his final homily, referring to the change of location prompted by his surprise announcement on Monday that he would be resigning as of 8pm on 28 February. His Ash Wednesday service usually takes place on the Aventine Hill, but the Vatican held it in its central basilica instead to accommodate the streams of people now especially keen to take part. | "Circumstances suggested we gather in St Peter's Basilica," said the outgoing pope in his final homily, referring to the change of location prompted by his surprise announcement on Monday that he would be resigning as of 8pm on 28 February. His Ash Wednesday service usually takes place on the Aventine Hill, but the Vatican held it in its central basilica instead to accommodate the streams of people now especially keen to take part. |
| Not all of them made it into the basilica. While many packed into a tight space at the rear, hundreds more watched the mass on large screens in St Peter's Square under the pinkish sky of a perfect Roman dusk. "This is his last mass, so it's an historic event," said Margarete Jäger, a tour guide originally from Munich in Benedict's native Bavaria, who was queuing to get in. "On the hand I'm glad for him, but on the other I'm sad because he is my pope." | Not all of them made it into the basilica. While many packed into a tight space at the rear, hundreds more watched the mass on large screens in St Peter's Square under the pinkish sky of a perfect Roman dusk. "This is his last mass, so it's an historic event," said Margarete Jäger, a tour guide originally from Munich in Benedict's native Bavaria, who was queuing to get in. "On the hand I'm glad for him, but on the other I'm sad because he is my pope." |
| At the end of the mass, the thousands of worshippers erupted in minutes-long applause for Benedict, with cries of "Viva il papa!" ("Long live the pope!") echoing around the vast basilica. The pontiff's trusted deputy, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, was visibly moved as he paid tribute to him. "We would not be sincere, your holiness, if we did not tell you that there is a veil of sadness over our hearts this evening," he said. | At the end of the mass, the thousands of worshippers erupted in minutes-long applause for Benedict, with cries of "Viva il papa!" ("Long live the pope!") echoing around the vast basilica. The pontiff's trusted deputy, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, was visibly moved as he paid tribute to him. "We would not be sincere, your holiness, if we did not tell you that there is a veil of sadness over our hearts this evening," he said. |
| Repeating Benedict's own words on becoming pope, Bertone added: "Thank you for having given us the luminous example of the simple and humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord." | Repeating Benedict's own words on becoming pope, Bertone added: "Thank you for having given us the luminous example of the simple and humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord." |
| Earlier on Wednesday Benedict held his penultimate weekly audience in the Paul VI hall, which like St Peter's, was packed out with his supporters, albeit rather less solemn ones who kept breaking into applause. A banner reading "Thank you your holiness" was unfurled at the back, and a group of Italian schoolchildren sang him a hymn. | Earlier on Wednesday Benedict held his penultimate weekly audience in the Paul VI hall, which like St Peter's, was packed out with his supporters, albeit rather less solemn ones who kept breaking into applause. A banner reading "Thank you your holiness" was unfurled at the back, and a group of Italian schoolchildren sang him a hymn. |
| Restating that he was standing down for "the good of the church", Benedict added, in a tribute to well-wishers worldwide: "Thank you; in these days which have not been easy for me, I have felt almost physically the power of prayer – your prayers – which the love of the church has given me. Continue to pray for me, for the church and for the future pope." | Restating that he was standing down for "the good of the church", Benedict added, in a tribute to well-wishers worldwide: "Thank you; in these days which have not been easy for me, I have felt almost physically the power of prayer – your prayers – which the love of the church has given me. Continue to pray for me, for the church and for the future pope." |
| In a reading, he stayed true to his conservative theology, urging Christians to withstand increasing secularisation and uphold traditional beliefs, such as what he called "Christian marriage" and the rejection of abortion. | In a reading, he stayed true to his conservative theology, urging Christians to withstand increasing secularisation and uphold traditional beliefs, such as what he called "Christian marriage" and the rejection of abortion. |
| "Today we can no longer be Christians as a simple consequence of the fact that we live in a society that has Christian roots," he said. "Even those born to a Christian family and formed in the faith must, each and every day, renew the choice to be a Christian, to give God first place, before the temptations continuously suggested by a secularised culture, before the criticism of many of our contemporaries." | "Today we can no longer be Christians as a simple consequence of the fact that we live in a society that has Christian roots," he said. "Even those born to a Christian family and formed in the faith must, each and every day, renew the choice to be a Christian, to give God first place, before the temptations continuously suggested by a secularised culture, before the criticism of many of our contemporaries." |
| One Italian newspaper quoted an anonymous member of the Roman curia claiming Benedict's resignation would be a "disaster" for the church but the news – which stunned the Catholic world on Monday – seemed to be gradually accepted by ordinary believers. In St Peter's Square, José Manuel Suazo, a Mexican teacher who was holidaying in Rome when the news broke, said: "I was very shocked. I think nobody expected that. But now I admire this pope's decision because he was a wise man to recognise that he was not strong enough to lead this mission in the way the mission needs." | One Italian newspaper quoted an anonymous member of the Roman curia claiming Benedict's resignation would be a "disaster" for the church but the news – which stunned the Catholic world on Monday – seemed to be gradually accepted by ordinary believers. In St Peter's Square, José Manuel Suazo, a Mexican teacher who was holidaying in Rome when the news broke, said: "I was very shocked. I think nobody expected that. But now I admire this pope's decision because he was a wise man to recognise that he was not strong enough to lead this mission in the way the mission needs." |
| Is it time, as many are speculating, for the church to elect its first non-European – and Latin American – leader? "Yes," said Suazo, decisively. "We have a large Catholic population and I guess our bishops and cardinals are doing their mission well. We cannot continue to think that Europe is the centre of Christianity." | Is it time, as many are speculating, for the church to elect its first non-European – and Latin American – leader? "Yes," said Suazo, decisively. "We have a large Catholic population and I guess our bishops and cardinals are doing their mission well. We cannot continue to think that Europe is the centre of Christianity." |
| Questioned about when the conclave to decide Benedict's successor will begin, a Vatican spokesman, Federico Lombardi, said on Wednesday that, "if all goes well", the process should start on 15 March. It also emerged that on 28 February, the outgoing pope would be whisked away in the afternoon by helicopter to Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer retreat outside Rome. Asked earlier in the week why 8pm had been chosen as the cut-off point for Benedict's eight-year-long tenure, Lombardi said that that was usually the end of the pope's working day. | Questioned about when the conclave to decide Benedict's successor will begin, a Vatican spokesman, Federico Lombardi, said on Wednesday that, "if all goes well", the process should start on 15 March. It also emerged that on 28 February, the outgoing pope would be whisked away in the afternoon by helicopter to Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer retreat outside Rome. Asked earlier in the week why 8pm had been chosen as the cut-off point for Benedict's eight-year-long tenure, Lombardi said that that was usually the end of the pope's working day. |