How Will Pope Benedict Be Addressed After Retirement?

With only two complete days left of Pope Benedict XVI’s papacy, more information was revealed on  Tuesday on what the future holds both for the retiring pontiff as well as the cardinals who will under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, select his successor.

On the question of what will the Pope’s title be after retirement, Vatican spokesperson Federico Lombardi informed reporters that the pontiff will keep the name Benedict XVI and still be called or addressed as “his holiness” once he retires.

He will also be known as Pope Emeritus, Emeritus Pope or Roman Pontifex Emeritus.

Pope Benedict is the first pope to resign in virtually 600 years and this question of how is he to be addressed has been on the minds of many of the faithful.

A number of questions have been asked of many Catholics the world over.  Questions such as who will be the next Pope, and how is a new Pope selected? Well over the next few days, all these and more will be answered.  The Catholic faithful are encouraged to do their part by praying from Pope Benedict and his successor.

Pope Benedict will hold his last general audience Wednesday, for which 50,000 tickets have been issued, Lombardi stated.  It is anticipated that many more people will try to catch a glimpse at the proceedings.

What to expect with the retirement of the Pope

Benedict will arrive in his Pope-mobile, which will drive around St. Peter’s Square amongst the faithful prior to the pope giving the address. He will not offer the usual short personal greetings to people afterward but will meet delegations of heads of state in Vatican City later.

Benedict will meet with the cardinals who are already in Rome on Thursday early morning. The 85-year-old will then be flown via helicopter to Castel Gandolfo, the pope’s summer house near Rome, in the afternoon. The church bell will toll and he will make his final public appearance, greeting crowds from a balcony there.

At the moment that Benedict’s papacy ends, at 8 p.m. local time, the Swiss Guards – the soldiers who for more than five centuries have secured the pope and his home – will leave the gates of Castel Gandolfo. He will from that point have Vatican authorities security instead.

Benedict will remain there until work to restore a monastery within the Vatican premises is completed later on in the spring.