VATICAN CITY: 28 February 2103 -- CNN PRODUCER
NOTE
Filipino priest joelsdb was in the crowd for the Pope's final
audience
ahead of his resignation on Thursday. "The atmosphere was very
warm, I
really felt that the Pope felt the love from the crowd," he
said. "It
was very emotional, as it marks the last time we will see him
as Pope."
- sarahbrowngb, CNN iReport producer
"The decision I have
made,
after much prayer, is the fruit of a serene trust in God’s
will and a
deep love of Christ’s Church. I will continue to accompany
the Church
with my prayers, and I ask each of you to pray for me and
for the new
Pope."
These were among Pope Benedict XVI's words today in his last
general
audience as pope. It was a gathering more emotional than
usual, even if
it took the same format as previous audiences which always
began with
the Pope leading the sign of the cross, followed by a reading
from
Scripture done in the major languages (today, in French,
English,
German, Spanish, Protuguese, Arabic, Polish and Italian) and
then the
Pope's reflection on the reading. He then would greet the
pilgrims in
these representative languages. The audience concluded with
the singing
of the Pater Noster (the "Our Father" in Latin) and the solemn
blessing
of the people.
Today, for several times as he delivered his message, the Pope
had to
pause because of spontaneous applause from the people. The
support for
the Pontiff was felt in the spontaneous gestures and the
number of
people who witnessed this last public act. Saint Peter's
Square was
jampacked. People were queuing
to enter the square as early as 6:30 in
the morning, four hours before the scheduled audience. It was
unprecedented--an audience that was scheduled as the last
public
address. And the people showed up. Beside the sadness that
many felt,
the atmosphere in the piazza was festive. They were chanting
the Pope's
name and shouting "Viva il Papa!" It was a farewell party, a
toast to a
spiritual leader.
I have
shared the photos that I have taken with family and friends
who are far
away and many of them are teary eyed when they look at the
images.
This, plus the overwhelming support that I saw from people of
various
nations, just shows that the papacy of this silent theologian,
even in
its brevity, had a lot of spiritual impact on people."