THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Pope Benedict XVI told tens of thousands of pilgrims in St Peter's Square in a voice breaking with emotion that he was resigning because God had called on him to devote himself to prayer
Pope Benedict XVI has given his pontificate's final Sunday blessing from his studio window to the cheers of tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square.
Benedict says even though he's retiring on Thursday from the papacy, the first pope in 600 years to do so, he's "not abandoning the church."
In a voice breaking with emotion that he was resigning because God had called on him to devote himself to prayer but said he would not foresake [sic] a Church role.
Instead he says he'll serve the church with the same dedication he has till now, but will do so in a way "more suitable to my age and my strength."
Benedict, 85, will spend his last years in prayer, meditation and seclusion in a monastery on Vatican City's grounds. » | Telegraph’s Foreign Staff | Sunday, February 24, 2013
