Pope to make first appearance since resignation shock

Thousands of faithful will flock into St. Peter's Square on Wednesday to bid farewell to Pope Benedict XVI, at his first public appearance since the shock announcement of his resignation. The 85-year-old Benedict, who said on Monday that he would step down on February 28 because of his advancing age, will hold a general audience from his window on the square at 0930 GMT. He will go on to celebrate an Ash Wednesday mass in St. Peter's Basilica at 1400 GMT, his last public mass and one of his last engagements as pope. The mass is traditionally held in the Santa Sabina Church on Rome's Aventine Hill. On this occasion however it has been moved: out of respect for the outgoing pontiff, and to accommodate the crowd of faithful who will want to mark the end of his eight-year rule -- one of the shortest in the Church's modern history. "It will be an important concelebration, and the last led by the Holy Father in San Pietro," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said. Key cardinals were expected to attend as the papal conclave begins gathering in Rome to elect the next pope. No date has yet been set for the secret conclave, which will meet in the Sistine Chapel under Michelangelo's famous ceiling frescoes, but it could come within days of Benedict's resignation. Lombardi has said he expects a new pope in place in time for Easter, which falls on March 31 this year. Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone will govern the Church during the transition. Candidates for the Vatican's top job will join bishops, monks, friars and pilgrims for the Ash Wednesday celebrations, during which the pope anoints the foreheads of the faithful with ashes, launching a period of penitence before Easter in the Christian calendar. Benedict's surprise decision to step down -- making him the first pontiff in 700 years to resign simply because he cannot carry on -- sparked a flurry of rumours over his health, fed by revelations that he had had an operation to replace the batteries in his pacemaker three months ago. His decision was seen by some as a bid to avoid the fate of Benedict's predecessor John Paul II, whose drawn-out and debilitating illness was played out on the world's stage. The Vatican has insisted the pontiff suffers from nothing worse than arthritis and old age. After Ash Wednesday Benedict will hold another general audience and recite the Angelus twice from his apartment window on St. Peter’s Square before retiring to a secluded monastery, the Vatican added. Soon a new pope will be installed in the papal apartments, with his predecessor just a stone's throw way in the monastery which sits within the Vatican grounds, leading many to ask what role will be carved out for Benedict. The Vatican has said he will spend his time in prayer rather than giving advice. Vatican experts, who widely described the resignation as "revolutionary", said it could change the face of the modern papacy by setting a precedent for ageing pontiffs in the future. As rumours fly over front-runners for St. Peter's chair, commentators have said age may be a key factor in selecting a new pope, but any of the 117 cardinals eligible to vote could be chosen. While some hope Africa or Asia could yield the next pontiff, others have tipped high-flying European or North American cardinals, particularly those best capable of fighting growing secularism in the West, one of the Church's biggest challenges. Only one other pope has resigned because of an inability to carry on -- Celestine V in 1294 -- a humble hermit who stepped down after just a few months saying he could no longer bear the intrigue of Rome.