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.