Doors of Castel Gandolfo closed. Credit: EWTN.
Posted on 02/28/2013 2:04:29 PM PST by NYer
.- With the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday evening, the Swiss Guards have left their posts and sealed the gates of the former pontiff's temporary residence of Castel Gandolfo.
A crowd of Catholic faithful gathered Feb. 28 outside the papal vacation spot. At 8 p.m. Roman time, a loud bell rang eight times as they shouted “Viva il Papa!” or “Long live the Pope!”
The Swiss Guards entered Castel Gandolfo and hung up their ceremonial weapons – called halberds – on the inner walls as there is no longer a sitting Pope for them to protect.
Vatican gendarmes dressed in black uniforms have relieved the guards. The doors of Castel Gandolfo have been sealed, symbolizing the vacancy of the See of Peter and the lights of the papal residence in Vatican City are dark.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has exchanged his red papal shoes for simple brown ones given to him on his recent trip to Leon in Mexico. He now wears a simple white cassock without the mozzetta – the short cape that covers his shoulders.
Benedict XVI traveled to Castel Gandolfo by helicopter and car two hours before his resignation took effect. Hundreds of Catholic faithful greeted his arrival to hear his final words as pontiff.
“I’m simply a pilgrim that is starting the last stage of his pilgrimage on Earth,” he remarked, “but I would still like with my heart, with my love, with my prayer, with my reflection, with all my inner strength to work for the common good of the Church and of humanity, and I feel very supported by your sympathy.”
“Let’s go ahead together with the Lord for the good of the Church and of the world,” he said before making his final apostolic blessing.
“Thank you and good night. Thanks to all of you,” Pope Benedict said before departing from the Castel Gandolfo balcony.
Now that he has resigned, the former Pope will live at Castel Gandolfo for two months before moving to a monastery inside Vatican City. In the upcoming days, 115 cardinals will gather at the Vatican to elect his successor.
Evidently you didn’t get my FReepmail wherein I apologized.
The Church has survived for two thousand years. Name a currently-surviving institution that comes close.
you said he was de-facing his ring so i assumed you meant he had a Papal nose ring he had to take out of his face. wasnt that what you meant?
“Garbage?” Hot Tabasco is asking “garbage?” Is this how you treat those who are curious about the church of your faith? I’d hate to see how you act with people who are hostile.
All these weird traditions have nothing to do with Christianity or the Bible, they are like superstitions over centuries. More and more got added.
“Pope throws holy salt over left shoulder, this is symbolic of the salty sweat of Jesus on the cross”
The praying to anyone but Jesus is unchristian in the extreme. There are no holy people besides Jesus, none of the Saints (all appointed by humans to some imaginary heavenly post) are any higher than any other dead human, we are all equal in the eyes of God.
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Who was the first person to be called a “Pope”? Was it Emperor Constantine?
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How do Catholics explain the Holy Roman Empire and the role of the Pope and their church in it?
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Jesus did not come to create a bureaucratic church, any time people come together to worship in his name, that is church. This does not require a Pope or a Catholic Church.
He is no longer the leader of 1 BILLION Catholics and Vicar of Christ.<P.The red shoes symbolizes that he walks in the BLOOD of the MARTYRS!!!
STOP.....we are more than happy to answer questions that we know the answer to!!!! SOme of us, including MOI,don’t have ALL the answers, but they are out there.
Does your Baptist Bible the text about Jesus giving Peter the Keys to the Kingdom....and Jesus told the Apostles that “what you Bind on earth shall be Bound in Heaven and what you Loose on earth will be Loosed in Heaven”??? If YOUR KJBIble doesn’t have those words, then it isnt a complete Bible....if it does have those words, you should HEED THEM....Jesus’s OWN WORDS....HELLO???
Of COURSE it’s a bureaurecratic Church!! Even in the time of CHRIST, the apostles had different charges....Judas was in charge of the PURSE......geesh.....hard to go from 12 to ONE BILLION and NOT have a bureaucracy!!!!!
we all have the keys to the Kingdom, its called the Gospel
No, it was a Patriarch of Alexandria, 100 years before Constantine, that preferred boogieman of fundamentalists. Nobody ever called Constantine "Pope".
How do Catholics explain the Holy Roman Empire and the role of the Pope and their church in it?
The Holy Roman Empire, a loose confederation of mostly German states ... that Holy Roman Empire? The Holy Roman Emperors (so-called) mostly didn't like the Popes, and the Popes didn't like the emperors. You're not still upset about the whole Henry IV thing, are you? (Look it up.)
So as far as the Holy Roman Empire, we're mostly agin' it.
You know, I am not Catholic.
However it is classless and sickening to hear someone critizie the faith, beliefs or rituals of others.
Give it a break.
So, who were the best Popes?
Alexander VI?
Julius II?
I know I wish they would stop attacking protestants at every turn
and? Somehow, to you, that means we should follow the Catholic Church?
Jesus addressed Peter specifically and said he was giving him the “keys of the kingdom of heaven”. The keys are a symbol of delegated royal authority, see Isaiah 22:22.
please spare me.
Even if I thought Peter was annointed to head the church, the present Catholic Church bears almost no resemblance to anything Biblical.
“Jesus did not come to create a bureaucratic church, any time people come together to worship in his name, that is church. This does not require a Pope or a Catholic Church.”
Don’t be so sure you know what God intended for the earth. It’s all rather complex and well outside of your understanding.
The Church carried the Truth of the Lamb of God out of the holy land and to the world. That was a big job. The Church also carried much of science and learning through the dark ages. Another big job. The church may not be as wise or enlightened as you are today but possibly, SOMEWHERE along two thousand years it served a purpose.
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