Pope Benedict XVI will be known as "emeritus pope" in his retirement and will continue to wear a white cassock, the Vatican has announced, again fuelling concerns about potential conflicts arising from having both a reigning and a retired pope.
The pope's title and what he would wear have been a major source of speculation ever since Benedict stunned the world and announced he would resign, the first pontiff to do so in 600 years.
In the two weeks since Benedict's resignation announcement, Vatican officials had suggested that Benedict would be likely to resume wearing the traditional black garb of a cleric and would use the title "emeritus bishop of Rome" so as to not create confusion with the future pope.
Benedict's decision to call himself emeritus pope and to keep wearing white is sure to fan concern voiced privately by some cardinals about the awkward reality of having two popes, both living within the Vatican walls.
Lombardi further described Benedict's final 48 hours as pope. On Tuesday, he was said to be packing, arranging for documents to be sent to the various archives at the Vatican and separating out the personal papers he will take with him into retirement.
On Wednesday, Benedict will hold his final public general audience in St Peter's Square – an event that has already drawn 50,000 ticket requests. He will not greet visiting prelates or VIPs as he normally does at the end but will greet some visiting leaders – from Slovakia, San Marino, Andorra and his native Bavaria – privately afterwards.
On Thursday, the pope meets with his cardinals in the morning and then flies by helicopter at 5pm to Castel Gandolfo, the papal residence south of Rome. He will greet parishioners there from the balcony of the palace – his final public act as pope.
And at 8pm, the exact time at which his retirement becomes official, the Swiss Guards standing outside the doors of the palace will go off duty, their service protecting the head of the Catholic church then finished.
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