VATICAN : LATEST DETAILS - POPE IN RETIREMENT - CARDINALS TO MEET AND OTHER NEWS

(VATICAN RADIO IMAGE SHARE) FIRST CONGREGATIONS OF CARDINALS THIS COMING MONDAY Vatican City, 1 March 2013 (VIS) - Today, the first day of the Sede Vacante, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, has begun to summon the cardinals to the first of the General Congregations, as provided for by the Apostolic Constitution “Universi Dominici Gregis”. This first General Congregation will take place on Monday, 4 March, at 9:30am in the Synod of Bishops Hall. A second General Congregation is also scheduled for 5:00pm in the same place. Following is the text of the letter: “As prescribed in the Apostolic Constitution “Universi Dominici Gregis” of 22 February 1996 at No. 19, analogous to the case of the death of the Supreme Pontiff, I have the duty to officially communicate to Your Eminence the news of the vacancy of the Apostolic See from the renunciation presented by Pope Benedict XVI effective from yesterday evening, 28 February, at 8:00pm in Rome.” “On communicating this to you I fulfil my duty of summoning Your Eminence to the first of the General Congregations of the College of Cardinals, to be held on Monday, 4 March, at 9:30am in the Synod of Bishops Room in the Paul VI Hall.” “The General Congregations will then continue normally until the complete number of Cardinal electors is gathered and the College of Cardinals decides the date for those Cardinal electors to enter into Conclave on the basis of what the recent Motu Proprio of 22 February established regarding modifications in the norms relating to the election of the Roman Pontiff.” “On my part, I am pleased to take this opportunity to send you my fraternal greetings.”

BENEDICT XVI: TO WORK FOR THE GOOD OF THE CHURCH AND OF HUMANITY Vatican City, 28 February 2013 (VIS) – This afternoon, shortly after 5:00pm, Benedict XVI left the Vatican for the last time as Supreme Pontiff. A few moments earlier, in the San Damaso Courtyard of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B., secretary of State of His Holiness, and other members of that dicastery bid him farewell. In full military regalia, the Swiss Guard troops paid him homage. Also present were Cardinal Agostino Vallini, vicar general of Rome, and Cardinal Angelo Comastri, vicar general of His Holiness for Vatican City. Many of the workers of the Vatican City State, with their families, were also in attendance and greeted the Pope with warm applause. Before leaving the Vatican, Benedict XVI issued his last tweet: “Thank you for your love and support. May you always experience the joy that comes from putting Christ at the centre of your lives.” Shortly afterwards the Holy Father, accompanied by his private secretary, Archbishop Georg Ganswein, prefect of the Papal Household, took a car to the Vatican heliport where the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, greeted him and he boarded the helicopter that carried him to Castel Gandolfo. As the helicopter lifted off, the bells of St. Peter's Basilica and the churches of Roma began ringing. The Pope's helicopter flew over the city of Rome, passing by the Colosseum and St. John Lateran Basilica, and landed at the Castel Gandolfo heliport just after 5:20pm. Awaiting the Holy Father were Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello and Bishop Giuseppe Sciacca, respectively president and secretary general of the Governorate of Vatican City State along with Saverio Petrillo, director of the Pontifical Villas, Bishop Marcello Semeraro of the Diocese of Albano, and civil and religious authorities of the area. The Pope was then taken by car to the Castel Gandolfo Apostolic Palace, where he was greeted by hundreds of people while the bells of Castel Gandolfo's parishes rang out. Shortly afterwards, Benedict XVI appeared at the balcony of the Apostolic Palace and said to the many faithful who were waiting to thank him for his pontificate: “Thank you. Thank you all. Dear friends, I am happy to be with you, surrounded by the beauty of Creation and your well wishes, which do me such good. Thank you for your friendship and your affection. You know that this day is different for me than the preceding ones. I am no longer the Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church, or I will be until 8:00 this evening and then no longer. I am simply a pilgrim beginning the last leg of his pilgrimage on this earth. But I would still—with my heart, with my love, with my prayers, with my reflection, and with all my inner strength—like to work for the common good and the Good of the Church and of humanity. I feel very supported by your kindness. Let us go forward with the Lord for the good of the Church and the world. Thank you. I now wholeheartedly impart my blessing. Blessed be God Almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Good night! Thank you all!” Benedict XVI's pontificate concludes at 8:00pm this evening (Rome time), at which time the period of the Sede Vacante begins. The Swiss Guards will no longer be in charge of his safekeeping—which detail will then be undertaken by the Vatican Gendarmerie—and will return to the Vatican to offer their service to the College of Cardinals. During this period the twitter account @Pontifex will be deactivated. Once elected, the new Pope may, if he so desires, take over its use. Benedict XVI's Fisherman's Ring and the seal of his pontificate will also be destroyed at that time and the papal apartments in the Vatican Palace will be sealed. BENEDICT XVI IS WELL: READING, LISTENING TO MUSIC, AND PRAYING Vatican City, 1 March 2013 (VIS) – The director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., related some information regarding the Sede Vacante and the first hours of Benedict XVI after having left the pontificate in a press conference this afternoon. Fr. Lombardi spoke this morning with Benedict XVI's personal secretary, Archbishop Georg Ganswein, prefect of the Papal Household, who told him that, yesterday, His Holiness, who was very calm and serene, had watched several news programs and expressed his appreciation for the work of the journalists as well as for the participation of those who had assisted in his departure from the Vatican and his arrival at Castel Gandolgo. After a brief walk through the Apostolic Palace he went to bed and slept very well. Today, as always, His Holiness celebrated Mass at 7:00am and then prayed the Liturgy of the Hours. In the afternoon he has another walk planned at 4:00pm, through the gardens of the Castel Gandolfo Apostolic Palace, to pray the rosary. Benedict XVI brought with him various books on theology, history, and spirituality. At the moment he is reading from a book by the Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthazar. Yesterday at 8:00, Archbishop Giovanni Angelo Becciu, substitute of the Secretariat of State sent a letter to all the diplomatic representatives to the Holy See informing them that, during the period of the Sede Vacante, all matters will be dealt with by the substitute and by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Angelo Sodano. Moreover, this morning, the papal apartments in St. John Lateran were sealed.

MEMBERS OF THE COLLEGE OF CARDINALS Vatican City, 1 March 2013 (VIS) – The College of Cardinals is currently comprised of 207 cardinals: 117 Cardinal electors who can vote in the election of the Pope and 90 cardinals who are over the age of 80. First in the order of the hierarchy are Cardinal-bishops. Currently six in number, these were originally the bishops of the "suburbicarian" dioceses of Rome. Still today the Cardinal-bishops are assigned one of these seven suburbicarian Sees, even though they are not bishops of the diocese. Alongside the titular Cardinal-bishops of those Sees in the hierarchy of the Church (with the exception of Ostia's titular who, since 1150, has been the dean of the College of Cardinals), Pope Paul VI added, in his motu proprio of 1965, “Ad Purpuratorum Patrum”, the patriarchs of the Eastern Catholic Churches. The patriarchs are not assigned any further title because the names of each of their patriarchal Sees is already included in their title as cardinal. Second and most numerous in the three orders of cardinals are the Cardinal-priests who are assigned the “titulos” (title) of the important churches of the Diocese of Rome. Last in the order of cardinals are the Cardinal-deacons who were originally the seven deacons in the Papal Household and the seven deacons who supervised the Church's works in the districts of Rome during the early Middle Ages, when church administration was effectively the government of Rome and provided for all of the city's social services. Cardinal-deacons today are given title to one of these deaconries. Following is the complete list of the College of Cardinals according to their respective order of precedence. Cardinal electors are marked with an asterisk. Cardinal-Bishops SODANO Angelo ETCHEGARAY Roger *RE Giovanni Battista ARINZE Francis *BERTONE Tarcisio SARAIVA MARTINS José Cardinal-Bishop Patriarchs SFEIR Nasrallah Pierre DELLY Emmanuel III *NAGUIB Antonios *RAÏ Béchara Boutros Cardinal-Priests ARNS Paulo Evaristo BAUM William Wakefield CÉ Marco MACHARSKI Franciszek KITBUNCHU Michael Michai do NASCIMENTO Alexandre *DANNEELS Godfried WILLIAMS Thomas Stafford *MEISNER Joachim LOURDUSAMY D. Simon OBANDO BRAVO Miguel VIDAL Ricardo J. GULBINOWICZ Henryk Roman TOMKO Jozef POUPARD Paul WETTER Friedrich PIOVANELLI Silvano SIMONIS Adrianus Johannes LAW Bernard Francis BIFFI Giacomo MARTÍNEZ SOMALO Eduardo SILVESTRINI Achille FALCÃO José Freire SANTOS Alexandre José Maria dos CANESTRI Giovanni PIMENTA Simon Ignatius CLANCY Edward Bede SZOKA Edmund Casimir PASKAI László TUMI Christian Wiyghan CASSIDY Edward Idris *LÓPEZ RODRÍGUEZ Nicolas de Jesús ANGELINI Fiorenzo *MAHONY Roger Michael RUINI Camillo KOREC Ján Chryzostom SCHWERY Henri VLK Miloslav FURNO Carlo *DARMAATMADJA Julius Riyadi *ORTEGA Y ALAMINO Jaime Lucas AGUSTONI Gilberto WAMALA Emmanuel KEELER William Henry *TURCOTTE Jean-Claude CARLES GORDÓ Ricardo María MAIDA Adam Joseph *PULJI? Vinko *SANDOVAL ÍÑIGUEZ Juan TONINI Ersilio MEDINA ESTÉVEZ Jorge Arturo CASTRILLÓN HOYOS Darío ANTONETTI Lorenzo STAFFORD James Francis DE GIORGI Salvatore ARAÚJO Serafim FERNANDES de *ROUCO VARELA Antonio María *TETTAMANZI Dionigi *PENGO Polycarp *SCHÖNBORN Christoph *RIVERA CARRERA Norberto *GEORGE Francis Eugene JAWORSKI Marian PUJATS J?nis CACCIAVILLAN Agostino SEBASTIANI Sergio *GROCHOLEWSKI Zenon *SEPE Crescenzio MEJÍA Jorge María *KASPER Walter *DIAS Ivan *AGNELO Geraldo Majella RUBIANO SÁENZ Pedro MCCARRICK Theodore Edgar CONNELL Desmond *BA?KIS Audrys Juozas *ERRÁZURRIZ OSSA Francisco Javier *TERRAZAS SANDOVAL Julio *NAPIER Wilfrid Fox *RODRÍGUEZ MARADIAGA Óscar Andrés AGRÉ Bernard *CIPRIANI Thorne Juan Luis ÁLVAREZ MARTÍNEZ Francisco *HUMMES Cláudio *BERGOGLIO Jorge Mario *POLICARPO José da Cruz *POLETTO Severino MURPHY-O'CONNOR Cormac EGAN Edward Michael HUSAR Lubomyr *LEHMANN Karl TUCCI Roberto *SCOLA Angelo *OKOGIE Anthony Olubunmi PANAFIEU Bernard *ZUBEIR Wako Gabriel *AMIGO VALLEJO Carlos *RIGALI Justin Francis *O'BRIEN Keith Michael Patrick SCHEID Eusébio Oscar *ANTONELLI Ennio *TURKSON Peter Kodwo Appiah *TOPPO Telesphore Placidus *PELL George *BOZANI? Josip *PHAM MINH MÂN Jean-Baptiste *BARBARIN Philippe *ERD? Péter *OUELLET Marc *VALLINI Agostino *UROSA SAVINO Jorge Liberato ROSALES Gaudencio B. *RICARD Jean-Pierre *CAÑIZARES LLOVERA Antonio CHEONG Jinsuk Nicholas *O'MALLEY Sean Patrick *DZIWISZ Stanis?aw *CAFFARRA Carlo ZEN ZE-KIUN Joseph *BRADY Seán Baptist *MARTÍNEZ SISTACH Lluís *VINGT-TROIS André *BAGNASCO Angelo *SARR Théodore-Adrien *GRACIAS Oswald *ROBLES ORTEGA Francisco *DiNARDO Daniel N. *SCHERER Odilo Pedro *NJUE John KARLIC Estanislao Esteban MAZOMBWE Medardo Joseph *VELA CHIRIBOGA Raúl Eduardo *MONSENGWO PASINYA Laurent *ROMEO Paolo *WUERL Donald William *ASSIS Raymundo DAMASCENO *NYCZ Kazimierz *PATABENDIGE DON Albert Malcolm Ranjith *MARX Reinhard ESTEPA LLAURENS José Manuel *ALENCHERRY George *COLLINS Thomas Christopher *DUKA Dominik *EIJK Willem Jacobus *BETORI Giuseppe *DOLAN Timothy Michael *WOELKI Rainer Maria *TONG HON John MURE?AN Lucian *THOTTUNKAL Baselios Cleemis *ONAIYEKAN John Olorunfemi *SALAZAR GÓMEZ Rubén *TAGLE Luis Antonio Cardinal-Deacons *TAURAN Jean-Louis MARTINO Renato Raffaele MARCHISANO Francesco HERRANZ Julián LOZANO BARRAGÁN Javier *NICORA Attilio COTTIER Georges Marie Martin NAGY Stanis?aw *LEVADA William Joseph *RODÉ Franc CORDERO LANZA di Montezemolo Andrea VANHOYE Albert *SANDRI Leonardo *LAJOLO Giovanni *CORDES Paul Josef *COMASTRI Angelo *RY?KO Stanis?aw *FARINA Raffaele COPPA Giovanni *AMATO Angelo *SARAH Robert *MONTERISI Francesco *BURKE Raymond Leo *KOCH Kurt *SARDI Paolo *PIACENZA Mauro *DE PAOLIS Velasio *RAVASI Gianfranco SGRECCIA Elio BRANDMÜLLER Walter BARTOLUCCI Domenico *FILONI Fernando *MONTEIRO de CASTRO Manuel *ABRIL y CASTELLÓ Santos *VEGLIÒ Antonio Maria *BERTELLO Giuseppe *COCCOPALMERIO Francesco *AVIZ João BRAZ de *O'BRIEN Edwin Frederick *CALCAGNO Domenico *VERSALDI Giuseppe GRECH Prosper BECKER Karl *HARVEY James Michael

STAMPS AND COINS OF THE SEDE VACANTE Vatican City, 1 March 2013 (VIS) - The Philatelic and Numismatic Office of the Governorate of Vatican City State has issued four stamps with the image of an angel raising the pavilion (“umbraculum”) of the Apostolic Camera, the work of Italian artist Daniela Longo. The stamps cost: €0.70 for mail to Italy, with a light green background; €0.85 for mail to Europe, with a blue background; €2.00 for mail to the Americas, with a grey background; and €2.50 for mail to Oceania, on a yellow background. The use of these stamps as postage is only available during the Sede Vacante, ending with the election of the new Pope. Their philatelic use is allowed afterwards and the office will continue to sell them to collectors. The initial printing is for 230,000 complete series. The folder including all four stamps costs €15.00. There is also a smaller folder that was created on Pope Benedict XVI's renunciation of the pontificate, which includes two stamps and costs €10.00. Regarding coins, a €2.00 one commemorating the Sede Vacante will be issued. It is the only one that will be circulated seeing that, according to the European convention with the Vatican City State, only one coin is allowed to be issued per year, with an extra one permitted in the case of a Sede Vacante. There will, therefore, be two coins in 2013: one for the Sede Vacante and the other, to be issued in April, with an image of Benedict XVI. The Sede Vacante coin, 125,000 of which will be minted, bears the emblem of the Cardinal camerlengo with the pavilion of the Apostolic Camera. There will also be 10,000 silver €5.00 coins minted for the Sede Vacante that will have a dove of the Holy Spirit and the words “Veni Sancte Spiritus” on one side and the emblem of the Cardinal camerlengo with the pavilion of the Apostolic Camera and the phrase “Sede Vacante 2013” on the other. Likewise, 5,000 gold €10.00 coins will be minted. This will be a very small coin (13.85mm in size and 3g in weight) and will have the same images and writing as the silver coin. The €5.00 and €10.00 coins are collectibles and, theoretically, can only be used within the Vatican. They are not legal tender outside of the Vatican.