Tens of thousands of people jammed into St. Peter’s Square today to bid Pope Benedict XVI a final farewell at his final general audience before he becomes the first pope to resign in 600 years. The pope greeted the adoring crowds by making several rounds of the square in his popemobile, as he was cheered wildly. He stopped to kiss a half-dozen children brought up to him by his secretary. During a poignant final audience speech he said he understood the gravity of his decision to become the first pontiff to resign in 600 years but he had done it for the good of the Church. He said: ‘I took this step in full awareness of its gravity and rarity but also with profound serenity of spirit.’ He said he was not ‘coming down from the cross’ despite renouncing his office but would remain in the service of the church through prayer. He asked the faithful to pray for the cardinals and whoever they chose as his successor.
