Pope Benedict XVI bids farewell

Pope bids farewell

Pope Benedict received cardinals for a farewell ceremony on Thursday 28th February, warmly embracing Cardinal Angelo Sodano, who passed on best wishes on behalf of those gathered.

“Among you there is also the future pope to whom I promise my unconditional obedience and reverence,” the pontiff told those assembled.

“The Church is a living being,” he added, but it “also remains always the same”.

He later said goodbye to his staff before being taken to a helipad for the 15-minute flight to Castel Gandolfo.

The residence, 15 miles (24km) south-east of the Italian capital, is the traditional summer home of the popes.

At 19:00 GMT, Benedict ceased being a pope, a moment which will be marked symbolically when the Swiss Guards at the gate of Castel Gandolfo march off for their return to the Vatican.

The German pontiff, who was born Joseph Ratzinger, will continue to be known as Benedict XVI, with the new title of “pope emeritus”.

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Philimon Badagawa.

Philimon Badagawa is a multimedia journalist with skills in news gathering, packaging, editing and online publishing. He has knowledge in data visualization, can design and manage websites. He previously worked as a journalist with Observer media and authored several articles and stories. He does research, video & audio recording, editing and production for online publication. He Participated in The New Dawn photography campaign aimed at rebranding Northern Uganda-USAID/NUTI Project (2010). Philimon is in love with photography, writing, reading, sharing new ideas and interacting with reasonable people for skills development. He was recognized for excelling in Journalism during the Uganda Journalism Awards by ACME in 2015. (philebadagawa@gmail.com, +256 774 607 886)