Pope recalls ‘stormy waters’ in final speech

Pope Benedict XVI said there had been “stormy waters” during his papacy as he gave his farewell speech in St Peter’s Square before tens of thousands of pilgrims ahead of his momentous resignation today.

A smiling Benedict looked relaxed as his “popemobile” bore him through the famous plaza where more than 150,000 people had gathered under a bright, cloudless sky for his historic sendoff.

A woman clutching rosary beads wiped away tears as the octogenarian Benedict passed. One of the hundreds of cardinals and bishops in their red and purple-sashed robes could also be seen tearing up.

Some in the throng held up huge banners with messages such as “Benedict, we’ll miss you!” and “The pope is the heart of this city!” or waved the Vatican’s yellow and white flag at the pontiff’s last public event.

A hush fell over the sea of pilgrims as the Pope began speaking. Benedict drew an analogy between his reign and a miracle recounted in the Bible when Jesus Christ calmed the waters as he was sailing on a fishing boat with his disciples including St Peter — who is believed by Christians to be the first pope.

“The Lord gave us days of sun and of light breeze, days in which the fishing was good. There were also moments when there were stormy waters and headwinds... as if God was sleeping,” the pope said in an apparent reference to the multiple scandals that have plagued his pontificate.

“But I always knew that God was in that boat and I always knew that the boat of the Church is not mine, is not ours, but is His and He will not let it sink,” the leader of the world’s 1.2bn Catholics told the crowd.

Benedict also said his decision to resign — which makes him the first pope to do so since the Middle Ages — had not been an easy one but had been taken for the good of the Church.

“I took this step in full awareness of its gravity and novelty but with profound serenity of spirit,” he said, adding: “I will continue to accompany the Church with prayer and reflection.”

The frail 85-year-old stunned the world with his abrupt decision to end an eight-year reign dogged by scandal and Vatican in-fighting, declaring he was too weak to keep up with the modern world.

The scourge of paedophile priests as well as cover-ups by their superiors, cast a dark shadow over Benedict’s papacy, combined with a longstanding money- laundering scandal at the Vatican bank.

What observers said may have been the last straw was the scandal that came to be known as “Vatileaks”, in which Benedict’s trusted butler leaked secret memos revealing intrigues between rival groups of cardinals.

Yesterday’s crowds did not dwell on the scandals.

“I have come in gratitude for everything he has done these past eight years,” said Fr Giulio, 67, a priest from the Abruzzo region.

“Resigning is a powerful message for every Christian. He resigned without bitterness but instead in sweetness and serenity.”

Vietnamese seminarian Giuseppe Fan stood on tiptoe on the steps of one of the square’s fountains for a better view. “I love the Pope,” he said. “I’m sad that he’s leaving, but he has made a grand gesture of love for the Church.”

A top Vatican prelate, Rino Fisichella, praised Benedict’s speech as a “true hymn to the Church”. The Pope “has put all his faith in the hands of the spirit [in] a great testimony of faith”, said Fisichella, who heads the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelisation.

Benedict’s resignation is a break with Catholic tradition that has worried conservatives but kindled the hopes of Catholics around the world who want a successor who will breathe new life into the Church.

While most appeared to accept the Pope’s imminent departure, at least one banner pleaded: “Benedict, change your mind!”

However, Jan Graubner, archbishop of Olomouc, Czech Republic, said that while he was sad to see the Pope leave, “gratitude outweighs sadness because I see that the Holy Father wants this. It’s his will.”

Later, the Pope followed up his farewell speech with what the Vatican said would be one of his last tweets: “If only everyone could experience the joy of being Christian, being loved by God who gave his Son for us!” the Pope wrote.

The Vatican said Benedict will receive the title of Roman pontiff emeritus and can still be addressed as “Your Holiness” and wear the white papal cassock after he officially steps down at 7pm tonight.

Rome has been gripped by speculation over who the leading candidates might be to replace him — the so-called “papabili” — as cardinals from around the world fly in ahead of the conclave to elect the next pope.

Rumours and counter-rumours in the Italian media hint at cloak-and-dagger lobbying, prompting the Vatican to condemn what it has called “unacceptable pressure” to influence the papal election.

Campaign groups have also lobbied the Vatican to exclude two cardinals accused of covering up child sex abuse from the up-coming election conclave.

A total of 115 “cardinal electors” are scheduled to take part in next month’s conclave.

Benedict clearly enjoyed the crowds, taking a long victory lap around the square in an open-sided car and stopping to kiss and bless half a dozen children. A total of 70 cardinals, some tearful, sat in attendance.

But Benedict made a quick exit, foregoing the typical meet-and-greet session that follows the audience; the Vatican has said there were simply too many people who would have wanted to say goodbye.

Some 50,000 tickets were requested for Benedict’s final master class. In the end, the Vatican estimated that 150,000 people flocked to the farewell. With chants of “Benedetto!” erupting often, the mood was far more buoyant than during the Pope’s final Sunday blessing. It recalled the jubilant turnouts that often accompanied him at World Youth Days and events involving his predecessor, Pope John Paul II.

At 7pm tonight the doors of the palazzo will close and the Swiss Guards in attendance will go off duty, their service protecting the head of the Catholic Church over — for now.