Pope: the flight to Castel Gandolfo before his “Goodbye”

ROME - A day after blessing the faithful for the last time as Pope, Benedict XVI leaves the Vatican by helicopter on Thursday afternoon for the papal summer residence. At 4.45 p.m. the pontiff take his leave of Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Secretary of State and stand-in leader until a successor is elected (“Camerlengo”), in the San Damaso courtyard. Then he is driven to a helipad for his flight to Castel Gandolfo.



At 5 p.m. Benedict XVI flies by helicopter to this hilltop town outside Rome, where popes have summered for centuries. At 6 p.m. the pontiff appears at a window overlooking the public square in Castel Gandolfo and says “Goodbye” to the crowd. At 8 p.m. the pontiff retirement officially begins. Benedict XVI is expected to stay there for a couple of months before returning to live at the Vatican in a convent whose gardens offer a perfect view of the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica.