EMERITUS

Pope: I’ll Be ‘Obedient’ to Successor

Final words: “Thank you and goodnight.”

"Thank you and goodnight." And with that, he's done. Pope Benedict XVI delivered his farewell address Thursday, pledging “unconditional obedience and reverence” to whomever his successor will be—and also hinted at infighting in the Vatican. He left the Vatican by helicopter. Benedict, 85, who cited ill health as his reason for leaving, will first live at the papal retreat castle in Castel Gandolfo and is expected to retire to a monastery on a hill inside the Vatican. Benedict, the first pope to resign in nearly 600 years, has been criticized by Australia’s Cardinal George Pell among others. But he warmly embraced Italy’s Cardinal Angelo Sodano, who currently has 3–1 odds of becoming the next pope.