Papal banner removed as Benedict steps down

'LONG LIVE THE POPE!'

Benedict XVI was on the balcony at Castel Gandolfo for a little over a minute, speaking his last public words as pope.

"I am simply a pilgrim who is starting the last part of his journey," the 85-year-old told the crowd, wearing only a white robe in the chilly evening air.

They shouted back, "Long live the pope!"

"Thank you! Good night!" Benedict replied before going back inside the palace.

A few minutes later, aides came out on the balcony, pulled off the papal banner, rolled it up and brought it inside the palace. The glass doors to the balcony were quickly clicked shut and the white curtains behind them tightly drawn.

Within seconds, the crowd of a few thousand in the piazza dwindled to a few hundred.

— Frances D'Emilio

Benedict XVI's elder brother says his final day as pontiff Thursday is more of a private matter than his big send-off.

Monsignor Georg Ratzinger told Germany's RTL television at his home in Regensburg, Germany, that Wednesday's farewell in St. Peter's Square was "the most important day for me." He says it was Benedict XVI's last encounter with the faithful, "and with that, the essential has actually already happened."

He said: "Today is more private, a sort of an accessory matter, at least according to my point of view."

Georg Ratzinger, who is 89, was ordained on the same day in 1951 as his brother, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

— Geir Moulson

HE'S OFF!

Benedict XVI leaves the Vatican for the last time as pope, flying by helicopter to the papal retreat before becoming the first pontiff to resign in 600 years

The  helicopter is circling over St. Peter's Square before heading to Castel Gandolfo, where he will make his final appearance as pope. Spectators around the helipad are hanging out signs that read, "Thank you."

As his closest aide wept by his side, Benedict bade farewell to Vatican officials gathered in the San Damaso courtyard of the Apostolic Palace, a corps of Swiss Guards standing by at attention.

Benedict traveled by car to the helipad on the top of the hill of the Vatican gardens and boarded a helicopter along with his secretary, Monsignor Georg Gaenswein, for the 15-minute trip to Castel Gandolfo. Bells tolled as the helicopter took off — and are tolling still.

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SAYING THE ROSARY

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POPE'S MOTORCADE

The pope has greeted his staff for the last time and is heading in a motorcade for the helicopter that will take him to Castel Gandolfo.

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THE SENDOFF

The Swiss Guards are marching in step inside the San Damaso courtyard inside the Vatican's Apostolic Palace, preparing Pope Benedict XVI's send-off.

Members of the Vatican bureaucracy, or Curia, have poured into the courtyard to witness the historic moment of Benedict's final departure from the Vatican as pope.

He will travel by car to the Vatican's helipad at the top of the hill in the Vatican gardens, and then will fly by helicopter to the papal residence at Castel Gandolfo.

— Nicole Winfield

LAST-MINUTE ITALY

Italians often show up for events at the last minute, and the gathering to say farewell to Pope Benedict XVI in the main square of Castel Gandolfo was no exception.

As the clock struck 4:15 p.m., the crowd of a few hundred seemed to swell almost at once to a few thousand well-wishers packing the tiny, rectangular square.

Yellow-and-white paper pennants in Vatican colors were selling briskly at $1.50 apiece as the town awaited the pope's arrival in about an hour.

— Frances D'Emilio

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QUICK QUOTE: FAN

Anna Maria Togni and her friend walked one mile from the outskirts of Castel Gandolfo to witness history today as Pope Benedict XVI retires. Licking a gelato of hazelnut and nougat, Togni said she "felt lucky."

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WRITTEN IN STONE

Benedict is on permanent record as a fan of Castel Gandolfo.

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LAST PAPAL TWEET

Update for the Twitter world:

The Vatican says retiring Pope Benedict XVI will send his last tweet as pope around 5 p.m. Rome time (11 a.m. EST). That's also about the time he's set to leave the Vatican by helicopter to the papal retreat at Castel Gandolfo.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi says the pope's Twitter handle @Pontifex will then be "in abeyance" until the next pontiff is selected. He says it'll be up to the next leader of the Catholic Church as to whether he will use it.

— Joji Sakurai

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FROM MANILA

This is from the Philippines, an Asian nation where more than 75 million people in the population of 94 million are Roman Catholic:

Romeo Mercardo, a 45-year-old tricycle driver in front of Manila's Santa Ana Church, says he's saddened by Pope Benedict's resignation. "I think he ran the church well. From what I see even here in our parish, you can see a lot of people going to Mass. People would go to church as early as Saturday, and on Sundays the church is packed," Mercardo says.

The historic church dating back to the Spanish colonial era held no special Masses today for Benedict, but many Filipinos followed the news from the Vatican on the radio and TV.

—Eden Mendez, 23, a saleswoman in a clothing store: "It's sad that he has to go. I hope whoever will replace him will also work like him. He did well for the church."

—Fortunato Vendivel, a professor at Philippine Normal University: "My wish for him is to get well because he looks really ill, and I think he badly needs to rest."

— Teresa Cerojano

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SWISS GUARDS TO GET A REST

The pope's retirement means his famous Swiss Guards get a few days off before they have to protect the new guy.

Stern-faced and standing as erect as the halberds they grasp, Swiss Guards rarely betray emotion on duty. But their storied history has its early roots in a bloody drama.

Nearly five centuries ago, 147 Swiss Guards died while protecting Pope Clement VII in his frantic dash to safety when Emperor Charles V's soldiers sacked Rome.

A few decades earlier, the Renaissance pope Julius II had asked Switzerland to supply the Vatican with soldiers because he was so impressed by the courage of Swiss mercenaries.

The Swiss Guards will go off-duty Thursday evening at 8 — the exact moment when the man they serve, Pope Benedict XVI, resigns.

— Frances D'Emilio

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IN THE 15TH CENTURY

The last pope to resign was Pope Gregory XII, who stepped down in 1415 to end the Great Western Schism, a nearly 40-year split over leadership of Christendom. The disagreement was a major political struggle, since the Church played a central role in politics, art and daily life in much of Europe, which was slowly transitioning into the Renaissance.

During that era:

— Heretics were burned at the stake, including Bohemian-born Jan Hus, a priest considered an inspiration for the Protestant Reformation, in 1415. Joan of Arc, who fought for France in the Hundred Years War against England, died at the stake in 1431.

— The Medicis were building the banking empire that would turn them into a political dynasty, make them influential art benefactors and eventually produce four popes, the first in 1513.

— Early Renaissance artists like Donatello were playing with perspective in sculptures of saints that adorned his country's ornate churches.

— Matt Surman

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QUICK QUOTE: CARDINAL PELL

Australia's Cardinal George Pell, one of those who will be voting for the next pope, is speaking in Rome about Pope Benedict XVI's retirement:

"He was well aware that this was a break with tradition, slightly destabilizing. But he felt that because of his weakness and sickness, which was only too evident today, that he just didn't have the strength to lead in church in these demanding times."

— Victor Simpson, AP's Rome bureau chief, who has covered the Vatican for decades

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POPE EYES GARDEN WALKS

Everyone looks forward to retirement for one reason or another. In Pope Benedict XVI's case, it might be having more time for walks.

Benedict took daily strolls through Vatican City's gardens. Now, awaiting his first months in retirement at Castel Gandolfo is a splendid expanse of manicured lawn, dotted by geometrically shaped bushes, for his afternoon walks.

The Holy See got a good deal on the castle and its grounds. It was acquired in the late 1500s in return for an unpaid debt owed by Italian nobles. But the estate didn't always appear so beautiful. For years, it was almost abandoned after the fall of the Papal State in 1870, as modern Italy took shape.

— Frances D'Emilio

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PAPAL CONTENDERS

One-hundred and fifteen cardinals will be voting in the next few weeks to choose Pope Benedict's XVI successor. Should they return the papacy to an Italian, stick with a pontiff from elsewhere in Europe or follow the trends in the church and look to Africa or across the Atlantic? Here's a look at some possible contenders:

From Europe:

— Cardinal Angelo Scola, archbishop of Milan

— Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, archbishop of Vienna

— Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, head of Vatican's culture office

From Africa:

— Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson of Ghana, head of the Vatican's justice and peace office

From Latin America:

— Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer of Sao Paulo

— Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina

— Cardinal Leonardo Sandri of Argentina

From North America:

— Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Canada, head of the Vatican's office for bishops

— Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York

From Asia:

— Cardinal Antonio Tagle, the archbishop of Manila

RELATED: Where will the next pope come from?

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— Brian Murphy, AP's Dubai bureau chief

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THE PONTIFF'S CAPE

Pope Benedict XVI, his dress soon to be limited to a simple white robe, has worn a ceremonial red cape for his final meeting with the College of Cardinals.

The short cape with ermine trim, known as a mozzetta, is worn for special occasions. And special this occasion was, coming just hours before Benedict becomes the first pope in 600 years to resign.

He looked out at the cardinals and said, "Among you is the future pope." And he promised his "unconditional reverence and obedience."

— Victor L. Simpson, AP's Rome bureau chief

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WAITING FOR THE POPE: 8:30 a.m. ET

AP Photo: Oded Balilty. Pope's final day: St. Peter's Square is reflected in the trombone of a German band prior Pope Benedict XVI's last general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Wednesday. IMAGE

AP Photo: Vatican TV. Pope's final day: Pope Benedict XVI prepares to deliver his final greetings to the assembly of cardinals at the Vatican Thursday before he retires in just a few hours. IMAGE

AP Photo: Alfredo Valadez. Pope's final day: Armando Martin Duenas shows replicas of the two pairs of hand-crafted loafers that were given to Pope Benedict XVI during his March 2012 visit to Mexico. IMAGE

AP Photo: Pier Paolo Cito, File. Pope's final day: Pope Benedict XVI wearing a "saturno hat," inspired by the ringed planet Saturn, to shield himself from the sun, waves to the crowd in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. IMAGE