Pope Benedict XVI to Keep His Name and Become Pope Emeritus when he Resigns
VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI will keep the name Benedict XVI and become the Roman pontiff emeritus or pope emeritus, the Vatican announced Tuesday, putting an end to days of speculation on how the pope will be addressed once he ceases to be the leader of the world’s 1.1 billion Roman Catholics on Thursday.
Benedict, the first pope to resign voluntarily in six centuries, will
dress in a simple white cassock, forgoing the mozzetta, the elbow-length
cape worn by some Catholic clergymen, the Vatican spokesman, the Rev.
Federico Lombardi, told reporters at a news briefing.
And he will no longer wear the red shoes typically worn by popes,
symbolizing the blood of the martyrs, Father Lombardi said, opting
instead for a more quotidian brown. “Mexicans will be happy to know that
the pope very much appreciated the shoes” he received as a gift last
year in León, Mexico, he added. “He finds them very comfortable.” It was
after the grueling trip in March 2012
that the pope began to seriously consider resigning, the Vatican said
after the pope announced his resignation on Feb. 11.
Father Lombardi said the pope had decided on his couture in consultation
with other Vatican officials.
Benedict will also stop using the
so-called fisherman’s ring to seal documents. It will be destroyed by
the cardinal camerlengo, the acting head of state of Vatican City during
the “sede vacante,” the canon law term used when the papacy is vacant.
As his staff finishes packing up his personal belongings, the pope will
hold his scheduled weekly audience Wednesday — to which 50,000 tickets
have already been requested — and then meet with several dignitaries,
including the presidents of Slovakia and of the German region of
Bavaria, who have traveled to Rome to bid their respects.
Thursday will be a day of goodbyes, to the cardinals already present in
Rome, and later to some members of the Curia. In the afternoon, he will
depart for Castel Gandolfo, the summer residence of popes, where he will
remain until restorations are complete on the convent inside the
Vatican where he will live out his days.
Father Lombardi said the College of Cardinals would probably begin
meeting next Monday to discuss various issues, like the problems facing
the church and the qualities required of its next leader, and determine
the date of the start of the conclave to choose Benedict’s successor.
