Pope celebrates last public Mass as pontiff
BY NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press
Thursday, February 14, 2013
2/14/13 at 5:23 AM
Related story: Lenten ashes modernized.
Beginning a long farewell to his flock, a weary Pope Benedict XVI celebrated his final public Mass as pontiff, presiding over Ash Wednesday services hours after a bittersweet audience that produced the extraordinary scene of the leader of the world's billion Catholics explaining himself directly to the faithful.
The mood inside St. Peter's Basilica was somber during the Mass, as if the weight of Benedict's decision and the finality of his pontificate had finally registered with the thousands present. The basilica erupted in a rousing standing ovation as Benedict exited for the last time as pope, bringing tears to the eyes of some of those closest to him.
"We wouldn't be sincere, Your Holiness, if we didn't tell you that there's a veil of sadness on our hearts this evening," Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Benedict's longtime deputy, told the pope at the end of the service, his voice breaking.
"Thank you for having given us the luminous example of the simple and humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord," Bertone said, quoting Benedict's words when he first appeared on the loggia overlooking St. Peter's Square after he was elected pope.
Smiling and clearly moved, Benedict responded, "Grazie. Now let us return to prayer" - his words bringing to an end several minutes of thundering applause. Then, in a rare gesture and sign of respect, the bishops removed their mitres.
"Viva il papa!" the crowd yelled as the pope stepped off the altar, assisted by two clergymen, and departed St. Peter's aboard a moving platform to spare him the long walk down the aisle.
Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent, the most solemn season on the church's liturgical calendar that ends with Holy Week, which commemorates the death of Christ and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. By this Easter, on March 31, the church will likely have a new pope.
The scene was festive earlier in the day, when Benedict took the extraordinary step of speaking directly to his flock about why he had broken with 600 years of tradition and decided to retire on Feb. 28.
"As you know, I have decided to renounce the ministry that the Lord gave to me on April 19, 2005," Benedict said, to warm applause. "I did this in full liberty for the good of the church."
Benedict's decision has placed the Vatican in uncharted waters: No one knows what he'll be called or even what he'll wear after Feb. 28.
The Vatican revealed some details of that final day, saying Benedict would attend a morning farewell ceremony with his cardinals and then fly by helicopter at 5 p.m. to the papal summer retreat at Castel Gandolfo. That means Benedict will be far from the Vatican when he ceases being pope at 8 p.m. on Feb. 28.
Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said no formal or symbolic act was needed to make his resignation official because Benedict has already done all that was required to resign by affirming publicly he had taken the decision freely.
Benedict's final official acts as pope will include audiences with the Romanian and Guatemalan presidents this week and the Italian president on Feb. 23. His last general audience will be Feb. 27.
Original Print Headline: Benedict holds final papal Mass
Associated Images:
Pope Benedict XVI greets the faithful at the end of the Ash Wednesday Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Wednesday. GREGORIO BORGIA/Associated Press
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