Thanks to Beatrice and her website for leading me to this item...
Benedict XVI returns
to the Vatican
by ALBERT LINK in Rome
Translated from
April 29, 2013
"The Lord has called me to 'climb the mountain' so that I can dedicate myself more to prayer and meditation".
-
Benedict XVI, February 24, 2013
at his last Angelus as Pope
On Thursday, emeritus Pope Benedict XVI begins a new episode in his self-chosen retirement home. Just a stone's throw from St. Peter's Basilica where the Apostle Peter is buried.
On Thursday, May 2, exactly nine weeks after his resignation as Pope, Benedict XVI will leave the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo where he has been living since February 28.
Vatican spokesman Fr, Federico Lombardi said that 'in a discreet way', Benedict XVI will move into the renovated Mater Ecclesiae convent in the Vatican Gardens. As he announced, he will live the rest of his days in prayer, 'hidden from the world'.
"He is very happy about his new home," said a female religious to BILD. Not only because the small convent (total area 450 square meters) has been renovated for his purposes, but because once more, the former Pope will hear the bells of St. Peter and walk in the Vatican Gardens while praying the rosary as he did during his almost eight years as Pope.
He will be surrounded by Nature. The convent has a vegetable garden which grows peppers, cabbage and zucchini. There are rosebeds among the fruit trees, which had provided orange and lemon marmalade for the Pope's breakfast (first John Paul II and then Benedict XVI). Old pines and palm trees tower above the mini=convent.
It is said that a few stray cats roam the Vatican gardens. They will soon learn to count again on some food laid out for them, as Joseph Ratzinger's love of cats is legendary.
'Mater Ecclesiae' is a simple little convent that has been vacant since November 2012. The three-story building, with its two story annex, was built in the early 20th century. Formerly a residence for Vatican gardeners, it was renovated in the early 1980s when John Paul II decided to have a small community of contemplative nuns living in the Vatican to pray for the Church and the Pope.
The main building had 12 monastic cells decorated only with wooden Crucifixes and some religious images on the walls. There is also a sick room, offices, and a communal sitting room for the nuns. The latter has been renovated to serve as Benedict XVI's living quarters. There will be a room for his brother Georg when he comes to visit.
The annex has the chapel where Benedict XVI will be saying his daily Mass. The altar has a Madonna and is always decorated with fresh flowers. The altar cross is by a Sicilian artist, Francesco Messina. Its walls are decorated with icons, and it has stained glass windows.
The ground floor has a large kitchen, a supply room and pantry, and the dining room. There is also a library that was stocked with religious and theological books as well as contemporary literature. But Benedict XVI is moving in with his own considerable book collection which he had earlier moved from his cardinal's apartment to the papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace.
No one who knows him will rule out that the best-selling writer Pope will continue to write. In any case, his longtime transcribing secretary Birgit Wansing, a Schoenstatt lay nun, will continue to be at his side.
As will private secretary, Mons. Georg Gaenswein, who is also Prefect of the Pontifical Household.
[To provide the emeritus Pope with a male assistant while he, Ganeswein, is carrying out his day job, he has hired a German-speaking Flemish deacon.] He must be happy he will no longer have to commute daily between Castel Gandolfo and the Vatican.
The household will continue to be run by the four Memores Domini who have made up part of Benedict's 'pontifical family' for eight years.
The roof of the main building has a terrace from which there is a breathtaking view of Rome and the dome of St. Peter's. However, that also means that it is within the view of telephoto lenses, so the emeritus Pope will probably avoid going to the terrace in daylight.
Usually, on the first of May, summer in Rome begins with temperatures reaching 30 degrees Centigrade. As Pope, Benedict XVI spent summers in Castel Gandolfo (in earlier years, preceded by a 2-3 week sojourn in the northern Italian Alps) from July to September. In retirement, he may decide to summer somewhere cooler.
Benedict, now a private citizen, is not accountable to anyone. He freely chose to renounce the Pontificate. He is a free man. Which also means that he will get to play the piano as often as he wants.
Pope Francis to welcome
Benedict XVI on his return
The Vatican has announced that Pope Francis will welcome Benedict XVI at the Mater Ecclesiae convent when he arrives Thursday afternoon from Castel Gandolfo.
He was scheduled to leave the papal summer residence at 4:30 and would be welcomed at the Vatican heliport by Cardinals Angelo Sodano, Tarcisio Bertone and Giuseppe Bertello, by Archbishops Angelo Becciu, Dominique Mamberti and Gabriele Caccia, and by Vatican employees.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 02/05/2013 16:47]