Pope's Last Blessing From Window Draws Crowd - Spokane, North Idaho News & Weather KHQ.com

Pope's Last Blessing From Window Draws Crowd

Posted: Updated:

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Benedict has bestowed his final Sunday blessing of his pontificate  from his studio window overlooking St. Peter's Square.
    
A crowd estimated at a 100,000 people appeared to energize Benedict, and he spoke in a clear, strong voice. The pope repeatedly thanked the faithful for their closeness and affection as they interrupted him, again and again, with applause and cheers.
    
Benedict told the throng that his advanced age and waning health make him better suited to a life of private prayer. But the pope sought to reassure them that he wasn't abandoning the church by retiring to spend his final years in prayer.
    
On Thursday evening, the 85-year-old German-born theologian will become the first pope to resign from the papacy in 600 years. Benedict will spend his last years in seclusion in a monastery on Vatican City's grounds.
    
He has one more public appearance, at his weekly audience on Wednesday in the square.

  • Top Stories from KHQTop Stories

  • Saturday, May 25 2013 5:10 PM EDT2013-05-25 21:10:27 GMT
    SPOKANE, Wash. - Spokane firefighters responded to a gas line break in north Spokane Saturday afternoon near Lincoln and Nevada.  The actual site of the leak was located at a home just to the west of
    SPOKANE, Wash. - Spokane firefighters responded to a gas line break in north Spokane Saturday afternoon near Lincoln and Nevada. The actual site of the leak was located at a home just to the west of Nevada at N. Dakota and Brownsville Court. Officials say the homeowner was digging and hit a gas line causing the rupture.

  • Saturday, May 25 2013 4:10 PM EDT2013-05-25 20:10:08 GMT
    COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho (AP) - A northern Idaho sheriff says he's compelled to drop the department's Boy Scouts of America charter after the organization opened its ranks to gay Scouts.
    COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho (AP) - A northern Idaho sheriff says he's compelled to drop the department's Boy Scouts of America charter after the organization opened its ranks to gay Scouts. Kootenai County Sheriff Ben Wolfinger tells the Coeur d'Alene Press in a story on Saturday that the organization is promoting a lifestyle that's against Idaho law.

  • Saturday, May 25 2013 3:08 PM EDT2013-05-25 19:08:38 GMT
    LOS ANGELES (AP) - Protests against seed giant Monsanto are getting under way across the U.S. and in dozens of other countries.
    LOS ANGELES (AP) - Protests against seed giant Monsanto are getting under way across the U.S. and in dozens of other countries. "March Against Monsanto" organizers say they're calling attention to the dangers posed by genetically modified food and the companies that produce it. Protests are planned in more than 250 cities Saturday. INSIDE>>>|SLIDESHOW|
    •