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| Benedict XVI to be known as 'pope emeritus' | Benedict XVI to be known as 'pope emeritus' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Benedict XVI will be known as "pope emeritus" and will retain the honorific "His Holiness" after he abdicates on Thursday, Vatican official say. | Benedict XVI will be known as "pope emeritus" and will retain the honorific "His Holiness" after he abdicates on Thursday, Vatican official say. |
| He will also continue to be known by his papal title of Benedict XVI, rather than reverting to Joseph Ratzinger. | |
| He will wear his distinctive white cassock without any cape or trimmings. | He will wear his distinctive white cassock without any cape or trimmings. |
| He will surrender his gold ring of office, known as the fisherman's ring, and his personal seal will be destroyed in the same way as when a pope dies. | He will surrender his gold ring of office, known as the fisherman's ring, and his personal seal will be destroyed in the same way as when a pope dies. |
| Benedict XVI will also give up wearing his specially-made red leather loafers, instead wearing brown shoes hand made for him by a Mexican craftsman during a brief visit to Mexico last year, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said on Tuesday. | Benedict XVI will also give up wearing his specially-made red leather loafers, instead wearing brown shoes hand made for him by a Mexican craftsman during a brief visit to Mexico last year, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said on Tuesday. |
| His resignation is the first by a pope for some 600 years. | His resignation is the first by a pope for some 600 years. |
| The title "emeritus" is used when a person of status, such as a professor or bishop, hands over their position so their former rank can be retained in their title. | |
| Swiss Guard dismissed | Swiss Guard dismissed |
| The Pope is to spend his final hours at his Vatican residence saying farewell to the cardinals who have been his closest aides during his eight-year pontificate, says the BBC's David Willey at the Vatican. | The Pope is to spend his final hours at his Vatican residence saying farewell to the cardinals who have been his closest aides during his eight-year pontificate, says the BBC's David Willey at the Vatican. |
| His personal archive of documents will be packed up and, at 20:00 (19:00 GMT) on Thursday, the Swiss Guard on duty at his Castel Gandolfo residence will be dismissed, to be replaced by Vatican police. | His personal archive of documents will be packed up and, at 20:00 (19:00 GMT) on Thursday, the Swiss Guard on duty at his Castel Gandolfo residence will be dismissed, to be replaced by Vatican police. |
| This will mark the formal end of his papacy and the beginning of the period of transition to his successor, due to be chosen next month. | This will mark the formal end of his papacy and the beginning of the period of transition to his successor, due to be chosen next month. |
| From 4 March, the College of Cardinals will meet in general congregations to discuss the problems facing the Church and set a date for the start of the secret election, or conclave, to elect Pope Benedict's successor. | |
| That successor will be chosen by 115 cardinal-electors (those younger than 80 years old) through ballots held in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel. | That successor will be chosen by 115 cardinal-electors (those younger than 80 years old) through ballots held in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel. |
| A two-thirds-plus-one vote majority is required. Sixty-seven of the electors were appointed by Benedict XVI, and the remainder by his predecessor John Paul II. | A two-thirds-plus-one vote majority is required. Sixty-seven of the electors were appointed by Benedict XVI, and the remainder by his predecessor John Paul II. |
| About half the cardinal-electors (60) are European - 21 of them Italian - and many have worked for the administrative body of the Church, the Curia, in Rome. |