fourteen furn: Pope bids cardinals farewell as departure looms

NBC's Savannah Guthrie and Keir Simmons report from Vatican City where Pope Benedict XVI holds a special event with the cardinals to bid farewell.

By Alastair Jamieson, Staff writer, NBC News

In a quiet departure characteristic of his shy demeanor, Pope Benedict XVI began a muted goodbye to his cardinals and closest advisers at the Vatican on Thursday ? the final day of his papacy.

"I will continue to be close to you," he told them in the Vatican's 16th century Sala Clementina, before exchanging private individual greetings.?

"The future pope is among you," the pontiff added, pledging his "unconditional reverence and obedience" to who whoever is chosen as his successor.

He also expressed his desire for the church to work like an orchestra where diverse elements came together in harmony - yet another reference to his frustration over infighting at the top of the church.

NBC News Special Report: Pope Benedict XVI exchanges a few words with the College of Cardinals in the Sala Clementina before he official steps down as leader of the Catholic Church. NBC's Savannah Guthrie and Keir Simmons report from Vatican City.

He was expected to bid an individual farewell to dozens of members of the papal hierarchy, the curia, during the day before flying by helicopter to his temporary residence at Castel Gandolfo.

Eleven cardinals from the United States were due to be among those bidding him farewell on his final day as pontiff.

When the doors of Castel Gandolfo close at 8 p.m. local time Friday (2 p.m. ET) ? the moment Benedict's papacy ends ? the distinctive Swiss Guards in attendance will go off-duty.

The pontiff, who will be known that moment as pope emeritus, will remain at the papal summer residence for two months until his permanent home in a monastery within the Vatican is refurbished and ready for his arrival.

'A caring pastor'
NBC News Vatican expert George Weigel said Pope Benedict would be remembered as ?the greatest papal preacher since Gregory the Great in the 6th century? and ?a caring pastor.?

Father John Bartunek, a priest and author who works in Rome, added: ?One of the characteristics that has struck us is personal humility and sincerity. He has a certain sweetness and openness and he?s always present, always willing to listen and that will also be part of his legacy.?

?A lot of the repercussions of his decisions won?t be seen right away,? he said.

Thursday's goodbyes were in stark contrast to?Wednesday's public event, where a crowd of more than 100,000?cheered, applauded and waved banners of support as he delivered his final audience at a packed St Peter's Square.

He assured pilgrims and well-wishers that he was not "coming down from the cross" despite renouncing his office, saying his decision was taken "in full awareness of its gravity and rarity but also with profound serenity of spirit."

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?I think we?ll probably catch some glimpses of him walking in the garden,? Vatican spokesman Greg Burke told NBC?s TODAY. ?He?s not the kind of guy who is going on a book tour.?

An introverted theologian, he is credited with pushing the "new evangelization" and repairing rifts with Jews but faulted for not taking stronger action as a sex-abuse scandal tarnished the church's reputation and letting the Vatican bureaucracy run amok.

Vatican watchers say there is no clear front-runner and Benedict's legacy will loom large as they look to the future.

A Vatican spokesman told the Catholic News Service the college will probably not meet over the weekend but could gather the following Monday for informal talks to set a date for the conclave and begin talking about priorities for 266th pope.

Under old church law, the conclave couldn?t start until March 15, but an amendment this week will allow the cardinals to push up the date as along as all 115 electors are in place. There were supposed to be 117, but one is too sick to attend and another recused himself after being accused of inappropriate behavior with priests.

And, of the ?Vatican guesthouse where the cardinals will stay during the conclave must be swept for listening devices before they can move in.

The length of the conclave ? with its four secret ballots a day, cast in the Sistine Chapel ? is anyone's guess; it took just two days to elect Benedict and three to choose his predecessor, John Paul II.

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He alluded to the crises during Wednesday's address, saying he had often felt like "St. Peter with the Apostles in the boat on the Sea of ??Galilee."

?The Lord has given us many days of sunshine and gentle breeze, days in which the catch has been abundant," he said. "[But] there have been times when the seas were rough and the wind against us, as in the whole history of the Church it has ever been ? and the Lord seemed to sleep."

NBC News' Tracy Connor contributed to this report.