Pope Benedict will spend the first few months of his retirement in
the papal summer residence, a complex of villas with lush gardens, a
farm and stunning views over Lake Albano in the volcanic crater below
the town.
Locals set up banners and balloons in the square outside the papal
palazzo yesterday to welcome the pontiff, whose papacy ended last night
at 8pm local time with the Swiss Guards at the main gate handing over
security to Vatican police.
"It's a big surprise that he is resigning, but we will offer him
solidarity," said Pietro Diletti, the parish priest of San Tommaso da
Villanova, where the pope traditionally says Mass on August 15, the
feast day of the Assumption of Mary.
Gianmarco Pelli, 19, who works in a recently opened pasta factory in the town, had a slightly different view.
"When I heard he was coming here I knew we were going to be the
centre of the world for a while," he said. "The place is completely
transformed in summer; it becomes a spectacle. I hope it will be like
that in the next few months."
Benedict was due to arrive by helicopter in the late afternoon and
make one last public appearance to town residents before entering the
final phase of his life "hidden from the world", as he put it recently.
The pontiff will spend roughly two months at Castel Gandolfo, the
55ha grounds of which are larger than the Vatican City, before moving to
his permanent new home in a renovated monastery behind St Peter's
Basilica.
No comments:
Post a Comment