Just about an hour ago, the Vatican Information Service (VIS) released the comments of Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., director of the Holy See Press Office who said that Pope Benedict XVI will be “Pontiff emeritus” or “Pope emeritus”. So now we call him "Pope Emeritus, His Holiness, Benedict XVI"? Wow! There are some canon lawyers I know who are consuming large amounts of Tums with their blood pressure medication this morning. But I digress... The Vatican went on to release details about the Pope's final days in office and how he will transition out. you can read the full press release HERE. It is short, but VERY interesting. Some excerpts:
Let us continue to pray for Pope Benedict XVI in these, his final days of his pontificate.
- More than 50,000 tickets have already been requested for the Pope's final general audience tomorrow morning
- On 28 February, the Pope's helicopter will land at Castel Gandolfo at 5:15pm
- The Sede Vacante will begin at 8:00pm and the Swiss Guards assigned to him at Castel Gandolfo will take their leave, as their corps is dedicated to the safe-guarding of the Roman Pontiff. Instead, the Vatican Gendarmerie will take over the Pope emeritus' safety detail.
- The task of destroying the “Fisherman's Ring” and the lead seal of the pontificate falls to the cardinal camerlengo and his assistants.
Let us continue to pray for Pope Benedict XVI in these, his final days of his pontificate.
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