NB: I apologize for the uneven quality of the photos which I have been picking up from more than one site as well as from videocaps, and therefore, the exposures vary according to the source and according to the lighting of the original photo ...
THE MEETING
Some of the audio which could be heard on the Repubblica video:
At the heliport, the first words we hear are from Benedict:
"Good morning! Thank you for your visit. The sun also greets us... Thank you!"
In the chapel at Castel Gandolfo:
When B16 indicates that he will go to the first pew behind the central kneeler for the Pope, Francis precedes him to the pew instead. B16 protests, "The Pope is the Pope. We must respect protocol," but the Pope tells him, "We are brothers". So both kneel at the same pew.
Salvatore Izzo of AGI reports that when Pope Francis presented a Marian icon to Benedict, he said: "I was told that the image repsetns Our Lady of Humility. And when they told me that, I immediately thought of you, of so many examples of humility and tenderness that you gave us during your Pontificate".
In the library: For the first time, we see Benedict XVI seated in the guest chair... Note the white document box on the table - presumably containing the notes and documents that Benedict XVI believes will be useful to his successor.
I'm trying to gather all the images I can and post them here, because after today, Holy Week follows, and who knows when we shall get to see any new images of B16 again! Or any news about him, now that Pope Francis has paid him this most awaited visit... Perhaps B16 may attend some Holy Week services at the parish church of Castel Gandolfo?... It was so beautiful to see him today not just on still photos but on video. With the first TV image of him, Fidel Castro's famous remark in 2005 that "he has the face of an angel" immediately came to my mind. He looks very serene, but we are reminded poignantly of why he decided to renounce in that sequence where they enter the chapel, and, moving slowly with his cane, he follows several steps behind Pope Francis...God bless Benedict XVI and God bless Pope Francis!
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 25/03/2013 06:56]