Thank you and good night': Pope Benedict's last message to cheering crowds as he becomes first pope to retire in 600 years

After eight years, the Pope said his final farewell to the Vatican last night with a flight into the sunset.
The 85-year-old’s Italian air force helicopter circled Rome, passing over the Colosseum to give the Pontiff one last view of the city.
Bells rang out from St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican and churches all over Rome as he flew overhead.
Before leaving, Benedict XVI said goodbye to the monsignors, nuns, Vatican staff and Swiss Guards who make up the papal household.
He also sent a final tweet, saying: ‘Thank you for your love and support. May you always experience the joy that comes from putting Christ at the centre of your lives.’
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Pope Benedict XVI greeted crowds outside the palace at Castel Gandalfo in his final public appearance as pontiff

Before boarding the helicopter, Benedict said goodbye to the monsignors, nuns, Vatican staff and Swiss guards who make up the papal household

Members of the Swiss Guard close the doors to Pope Benedict XVI's residence in Castel Gandolfo to mark the end of his service

The closing of the doors symbolises the end to Pope Benedict XVI's time as head of the Catholic Church and he becomes Roman Pope Emeritus. Right, a police officer faces the wall as the Swiss Guards shut the door

Vatican personnel seal the door of the apartment of Pope Benedict XVI. He ended his reign pledging unconditional obedience to whoever succeeds him to guide the Roman Catholic Church

Swiss Guards prepare to close the gate of the Apostolic Palace after Pope Benedict XVI greeted the pilgrims, for the last time as head of the Catholic Church

Accompanied by his faithful personal secretary Georg Ganswein, a former ski instructor known as Gorgeous George, he made the short journey to the papal summer palace 15 miles south-east of Rome.
On the balcony of the Castel Gandolfo, where he will spend the next two months, he made his final appearance as Pope.

A visibly moved Benedict said: ‘Thank you for your affection and your friendship. I am now just a simple pilgrim.’
Benedict’s shock abdication – the first in almost 600 years – has left the Catholic Church in turmoil.
And his final day in office was marred by criticism from a senior cardinal who said the retirement sets a worrying precedent.
Cardinal George Pell told Australia’s Seven Network TV station: ‘People who, for example, might disagree with a future pope will mount a campaign to get him to resign.’
Benedict has, however, promised his ‘unconditional reverence and obedience’ to the new pope.
Meanwhile the senior Vatican cardinal with interim powers until the election of a new pope has been accused of spying.
Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone tapped Vatican phones and monitored emails over the past year, according to the Italian investigative magazine Panorama.

Benedict said he was 'simply a pilgrim about to start his last journey on Earth' and gave 'a heartfelt thank you' before disappearing inside the Apostolic Palace in the town.
'Dear friends, I'm 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 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 o'clock this evening and then no more.

'I am simply a pilgrim beginning the last leg of his pilgrimage on this Earth.
'But I would still ... thank you ... 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 sympathy.

'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!'
The pope, walking with the aid of a cane, left his private apartments at the Vatican shortly before 4pm GMT, which will be sealed when his resignation takes effect tonight, and was greeted by the vicar of Rome and the vicar of the Vatican City.

A crimson banner bearing the papal seal was draped over the palace balcony as Benedict told crowds he was 'simply a pilgrim about to start his last journey on Earth'

Benedict turned away from the crowds at Castel Gandolfo to pass the last two hours of his papacy within the palace

The helicopter with Pope Benedict XVI aboard flies past St Peter's Square today as he left the Vatican

Crowds wave farewell as the Pope departs in a helicopter, as Catholics around the world turned out to hear his retirement speech

The small figure of Benedict XVI could be seen waving to crowds gathered on rooftops around Rome as his helicopter took off

The Italian Air Force helicopter flew over St Peter's square as it began its short journey, flying over crowds gathered round large television screens

A helicopter carrying Pope Benedict XVI lifts off from Vatican City . He will now be known as Roman pontiff emeritus or pope emeritus

He emerged from the Apostolic Palace there into the San Damaso courtyard to rounds of applause from the Church's top brass as well as his staff, who had joined nuns, members of the clergy and Swiss Guards to say goodbye.
As the convoy drove away from the palace, the pope's Twitter account sent its final tweet.

 

It said: 'Thank you for your love and support. May you always experience the joy that comes from putting Christ at the centre of your lives.'
A banner read: 'Thank you' and then, in German, 'God Bless You.'
Bells rang out from St Peter’s Basilica and churches all over the city he passed overhead.
Before boarding the helicopter, Benedict said goodbye to the monsignors, nuns, Vatican staff and Swiss guards who make up the papal household. Many had tears in their eyes.
Earlier, aides were seen draping a crimson banner emblazoned with his seal over the palace's balcony ahead of his arrival.
Onlookers gathered on rooftops and around large television screens in St Peter's Square as the bells of St Peter's Basilica peeled to mark his departure - usually reserved for the death of the pontiff.

In his farewell speech, the Pope said: 'I would still with my heart like to work for the common good and the good of the church and of humanity'

Nuns cheer as Pope Benedict XVI waves to pilgrims, for the last time as head of the Catholic Church, from the window of Castel Gandolfo where he will start his retirement today

German Chancellor Angela Merkel sings as Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, right, head of the German Bishops' Conference, passes by at the end of a thanksgiving service for outgoing pope Benedict XVI

People drape a German flag from a window as they wait for Pope Benedict XVI to greet the crowd from the window of the Pope's summer residence of Castel Gandolfo

People cheer as Pope Benedict XVI greets the crowd from the window of the Pope's summer residence where he will spend his first post-Vatican days

A group in St Peter's Square say prayers for Pope Benedict XVI in the moments before he ceased to be Pontiff this evening

Tearful nuns follow the livestreaming online coverage of Pope Benedict XVI's departure on a screen in St Peter's Square in Vatican City, Italy

Catholics attend a thanksgiving service for outgoing Pope Benedict XVI. at the St. Hedwig Cathedral in Berlin, Germany

'Thank you and good night' was Pope Benedict's last message to cheering crowds as he becomes first pope to retire in 600 years