Pope readies farewell Mass

Pope Benedict XVI will formally bow out of the papacy at exactly 8 p.m. today in Rome (2 a.m. of Friday, Philippine time).

The Holy Father will meet with the cardinals at the Clementine Hall of the Vatican Palace on the morning of his last day as chief shepherd of the Catholic Church.

He will reportedly say his final Mass as Pope before the princes of the Church which include Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal and Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle.

At 4:55 p.m., Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the secretary of State and the camerlengo (chamberlain) of the Roman Catholic Church and other officials will bid the Pope goodbye at the San Damaso Courtyard of the Vatican Apostolic Palace.

Pope Benedict XVI will board a helicopter to his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, about 24 kilometers south-east of Rome.

The Pope’s helicopter will land at Castel Gandolfo at around 5:15 p.m.

He will be received by Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello and Bishop Giuseppe Sciacca, who respectively are the president and secretary general of the Governorate of Vatican City State, along with other Church and civil officials, the Vatican News reported.

Humility

The Holy Father is set to appear at the balcony of the Castel Gandolfo Apostolic Palace to greet the people who wanted to take a glimpse of the 265th successor of St. Peter the Apostle.

He will stop being Pope at exactly 8 p.m. (Rome time; 2 a.m. Friday Philippine time).

Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., the director of the Holy See Press Office, said Benedict XVI will be considered “Pontiff emeritus” or “Pope emeritus.”

He will, however, retain the name “His Holiness, Benedict XVI” instead of reverting to Joseph Ratzinger.

Lombardi said the 85-year-old Benedict XVI will wear a simple white cassock but will no longer be able to wear the red papal shoes.

He also explained that Benedict XVI will no longer use the “Fisherman’s Ring”, which will be destroyed along with the lead seal of the pontificate.

Msgr. Esteban Binghay, episcopal vicar of the Archdiocese of Cebu, lauded Pope Benedict XVI for serving as supreme Pontiff for almost eight years.

“He is being honest to himself and to us. He believes he can’t do justice to us if he remains as Pope. He’s truthful. He’s not ambitious. I admire his humility,” Binghay told Cebu Daily News.

First Cebuano saint

Despite his advanced age, Binghay said Pope Benedict XVI still managed to conduct pastoral visits to other countries and ordered the investigation of sexual abuse cases involving some priests.

Binghay said Cebuanos should be particularly grateful to the Holy Father for giving its first saint in Pedro Calungsod.

A Eucharistic celebration was held at the National Shrine of St. Joseph in Mandaue City yesterday morning to thank the Lord for giving the Church Pope Benedict XVI.

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, also concurrent president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, will preside over the Mass at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral at 9 p.m. today.

Although the Mass is held to honor St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face whose relics are presently in Cebu, Palma is expected to talk about Pope Benedict XVI.

The Eucharistic celebration will take place five hours before the Holy Father officially steps down from the papacy.

Msgr. Binghay said the papacy will be vacant after Pope Benedict SVI will relinquish the post.

Vacant

He said the cardinal camerlengo along with three assisting cardinals will temporarily take over the Catholic Church while there is still no Pope.

The interregnum starts on Friday when the See of Peter is vacant.

It is the period between the death or resignation of a Pope and the election of his successor.

The College of Cardinals will soon meet to set a date for the start of the conclave to elect Pope Benedict’s successor.

Pope Benedict XVI, whose original name was Joseph Ratzinger, was elevated to the papacy on April 19, 2005.

He replaced Blessed Pope John Paul II who appointed him as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1981. Blessed John Paul II died on April 2, 2005.