Popes

After 5 pm, Rome time, on 28 February, no, he will no longer be the Pope. There can be only one Pope, and there is no such thing as a retired Pope. The Pope did not announce his retirement, he did not resign, he renounced the Papacy.

As of this morning, U.S. time, this was on the feed from the Vatican News Service:

More than 50,000 tickets have already been requested for the Pope's final general audience tomorrow morning, 27 February, but greater attendance is expected. Except for the trip around St. Peter's Square in the popemobile and the exclusion of the "bacciamani" (brief personal greetings that take place after the ceremony), the audience will take place as usual. On its conclusion, the Pope will go to the Clementine Hall of the Vatican Palace to meet with some of the civil authorities who are present in Rome or who have travelled here to wish him farewell. Among these dignitaries will be the presidents of Slovakia and of the German region of Bavaria.

On the morning of 28 February, the last day of his pontificate, the Pope will meet with, again in the Clementine Hall, the cardinals what are present in Rome. At 4:55pm, in the San Damaso Courtyard of the Vatican Apostolic Palace and before a detachment of the Swiss Guards, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B., secretary of State of His Holiness, and and other members of that dicastery will bid him farewell. The Pope's helicopter will land at Castel Gandolfo at 5:15pm, where he will be received by Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello and Bishop Giuseppe Sciacca, respectively president and secretary general of the Governorate of Vatican City State along with Bishop Marcello Semeraro of the Diocese of Albano, and civil authorities of the locality.

Benedict XVI will appear at the balcony of the Castel Gandolfo Apostolic Palace to greet those who have gathered in the square to wish him well. The Sede Vacante will begin at 8:00pm and the Swiss Guards assigned to him at Castel Gandolfo will take their leave, as their corps is dedicated to the safe-guarding of the Roman Pontiff. Instead, the Vatican Gendarmerie will take over the Pope emeritus' safety detail.

Fr. Lombardi also explained that Bendict XVI will no longer use the "Fisherman's Ring", which will be destroyed along with the lead seal of the pontificate. This task falls to the cardinal camerlengo and his assistants. Likewise, the Press Office director announced that the Pope will no longer wear the red papal shoes.

Regarding the beginning of the Congregations of Cardinals, the dean of the College of Cardinals will send a letter to all the cardinals on 1 March, calling them to Rome. "It is likely, therefore," Fr. Lombardi added, "that the congregations will begin starting next week."

The congregations will be held in the new Synod Hall. The prelates will not be housed in the Casa Santa Marta residence until the eve of the beginning of the Conclave for various reasons, including the fact that rooms are to be assigned by lot during the congregations.

To defend Christianity from Islamic army attacks in the middle east and Europe.

A:

In early Christian centuries, the pope was simply the bishop of Rome. In fact the term 'pope' was not even used until the second century and may have been a term of respect applied, at first, to all bishops. Constantine became 'pontifex maximus' for the Church in the fourth century, and it was accepted that the emperor made important decisions for the Church as a whole. It was not until later centuries, after the fall of the Roman Empire, that the pope became accepted in the west as pontiff.

The Apostle St. Peter was the first Bishop of Rome, and thus the first Pope of the Catholic Church. Peter was chosen to become a Vicar of Christ by Jesus with Jesus as the Head of the Catholic church.

There are many references to this in the Bible. Just a few examples would include:

- "And I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church" (Matt. 16:18). (Note: the word for Peter and Rock is the same.) (Christ was acknowledging Peter's recognition of Christ and upon this recognition would Christ build his church. Christ did not appoint Peter as his successor rather he sent the 12 apostles to teach the people and build the Church.)

- Jesus entrusted Peter with his flock, making him too a Good Shepherd (John 21:15-17).

- After his conversion Paul went to see Peter, the chief apostle (Gal. 1:18).

Also, before Peter went on to establish the Roman church (the Catholic Church), he was the Patriarch of Antioch.

Many denominations, not just Catholic, recognize that indeed Peter was the first Pope.*

* Note that not all Christian denominations reach the same conclusion from the following passage of scripture

13 ¶ When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

15 He saith unto them, But whom say aye that I am?

16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Another Opinion:

Firstly while holy scripture does not say that St. Peter was in Rome, it also does not say that he was not.

It is from the historical writings of the early church fathers that the Orthodox, Catholic,Anglican and Lutheran churches gain their belief that Peter was the first bishop of Rome and view him as being honored as the first among the apostles regardless of how they interpreted this supremacy.

St. Irenaeus, "Against Heresies" 3,1,1 180 A.D., J208

'...in their own dialect, while Peter and Paul were evangelizing at Rome, and laying the foundations of the church'.

St. Irenaeus, "Against Heresies", chapter III, '...the very ancient, and universally known church founded and organized at Rome by the two most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul; as also (by pointing out) the faith preached to men, which comes down to our time by means of the successions of the bishops'.

Eusebius, "History of the Church", 2,14,6, 300 A.D., J651dd

'In the same reign of Claudius, the all-good and gracious providence which watches over all things guided Peter, the great and mighty one among the Apostles, who, because of his virtue, was the spokesman for all the others, to Rome'.

Tertullian, "The demurrer against the heretics", chapter XXXII,1,

'...like the church of the Romans where Clement was ordained by Peter'.

Saint Peter of Alexandria, "The Canonical Letter", canon 9, 306 A.D.

"Peter, the first chosen of the Apostles, having been apprehended often and thrown into prison and treated with ignominy, at last was crucified in Rome."

Eusebius, "The Chronicle" Ad An.Dom 68, J651cc

"Nero is the first, in addition to all his other crimes, to make a persecution against the Christians, in which Peter and Paul died gloriously in Rome."

Eusebius, "History of the Church", 3,2, 300 A.D., J652a

"After the martyrdom of Paul and Peter, Linus was the first appointed to the Episcopacy of the Church at Rome."

Lactantius, "Of the manner in which the persecutors died":

This letter is addressed to Donatus. It not only shows that Peter was actually in Rome, but that he died there also at the hands of Nero. Chapter II. "His apostles were at that time eleven in number, to whom were added Matthias, in the room of the traitor Judas, and afterward Paul. Then were they dispersed throughout all the earth to preach the Gospel, as the Lord their Master had commanded them; and during twenty-five years, and until the beginning of the reign of the Emperor Nero, they occupied themselves in laying the foundations of the Church in every province and city. And while Nero reigned, the Apostle Peter came to Rome, and, through the power of God committed unto him, wrought certain miracles, and, by turning many to the true religion, built up a faithful and steadfast temple unto the Lord. When Nero heard of those things, and observed that not only in Rome, but in every other place, a great multitude revolted daily from the worship of idols, and, condemning their old ways, went over to the new religion, he, an execrable and pernicious tyrant, sprung forward to raze the heavenly temple and destroy the true faith. He it was who first persecuted the servants of God; he crucified Peter, and slew Paul: nor did he escape with impunity; for God looked on the affliction of His people; and therefore the tyrant, bereaved of authority, and precipitated from the height of empire, suddenly disappeared, and even the burial-place of that noxious wild beast was nowhere to be seen."

Saint Damasus I, "The Decree of Damasus" 3, 382 A.D., J910u

"The first see, therefore, is that of Peter the Apostle, that of the Roman Church, which has neither stain nor blemish nor anything like it."

Saint Augustine, "Letter to Generosus", 53,1,2, 400 A.D., J1418

"If the very order of episcopal succession is to be considered, how much more surely, truly, and safely do we number them from Peter himself, to whom, as to one representing the whole Church, the Lord said: "Upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not conquer it."

The Holy Bible is the word of God and the foundation stone and bedrock of Christianity, however one must realize that it does not mention absolutely everything that happened in the spread of Christianity, why would it, does it help the Christian message at all to start talking about absolutely everything Peter did, of course not, there is simply too much information to go into the good book.

Another Opinion:

On my recent trip to Rome, I took a tour of the Vatican. The guide said that Saint Peter died on a cross. But he did it upside down. Why? Because he said that he wasn't worthy enough to die the same way as Jesus. Why he was sentenced to death was another story. Since Rome didn't support Christianity back then, Christians were slaughtered, crucified or some other painful way of death. And Peter proudly stated that he was their leader, was crucified in front of everyone.

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If Peter was the 1st pope then why did the Rome also wanted to kill him they kill Jesus also the Bible said this about peter....

The most commonly accepted church tradition in regard to the death of an apostle is that the apostle Peter was crucified upside-down on an x-shaped cross in Rome in fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy (John 21:18).

If you look right Jesus told Peter (YOU ARE PETER) telling Peter who peter is Jesus is the (ROCK / the Church) has always been and always be. Jesus is GOD the Father gave all to the SON peter is a man a sinner just like everyone here on earth but peter and the other apostles did what we cannot do is pick up our cross and walk with HIM who died for us. It is not an easy walk but we may try following GODS laws the laws that HE gave Moses the Ten Commandments, God wrote the Commandments with HIS finger and gave to the whole world to follow but many people now want to follow Commandments of men. Remember what peter and the apostles has to tell the high priest (Acts 5:29) "We must obey God rather than man beings! God Bless I hope this helps

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A BIBLICAL BASIS FOR PETER BEING THE FIRST POPE:

While it is a historical fact that Peter was the first bishop of Rome (what we now call pope)...here is Biblical proof that Peter was chosen by Christ to be the leader of the apostles and the leader of His church:

Note: please look up these scriptures for yourself...too much for me to type.

1)Matt. 16:17-19

Even if you don't agree that Jesus is referring to Peter as the rock on which he would build his church...in verse 19, Jesus gives Peter alone the keys to the kingdom of heaven and says that his decisions would be binding in heaven.

2)Luke 22:31-32

Jesus foretells Peter's denial and prays that Peter's faith would not fail and gives Peter the task of strengthening the other disciples.

3)John 21:15-17

After Christ's resurrection He asks Peter 3 times if he loves him (for the 3 times Peter had denied Him) and 3 times asks Peter to be the shepherd of His church.

4)Acts 2:14, 37 and 5:29

The book of Acts gives a few examples that show Peter in his role as leader by referring to the disciples as "Peter and the apostles".

ST Peter Apostle of Jesus Christ was the first pope. Source wikipedia and a known fact.
St. peter
St. Peter... the same Peter that was one of Christ's 12 Apostles.

The following events happened in the year 1320:

• The Scots sign the Declaration of Arbroath.
• Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland.
• Many horses die in England from a disease known as "Ffarsine".

Follow the related link for a full list of events.

In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 16, Jesus has been with His apostles for some time, and wants to know if they realize who He really is. So He begins by asking them who others are saying He is. After hearing their replies, Jesus asks His apostles who they think He is. Simon speaks up and declares Jesus as the Son of God. Jesus accepts his answer and in verses 17-19 of this 16th chapter, changes Simon's name to Peter (a name meaning rock) - something showing a change of role - and gives him the authority that popes have today to allow or forbid certain things. From this time on, Peter's name is mentioned first in all listings of the apostles. So it is Jesus who chooses Peter to be the first leader of the Church. The full context of this passage can be found in Matthew's Gospel chapter 16 verses 13-19.

Anglican Catholic Answer!

No one chose S.Peter as first pope. He was an apostle and in earthly terms I should imagine that an apostle has supreme status. S.Irenaeus [Adv, op cit.1. XXV11.] definitely states that the two apostles, Paul and Peter as joint founders of the Church in Rome and were co-consecrators of the first bishop. It is thought that the first bishop was Linus. It was this act that brought the Roman Church in to being.

Linus was first, Anencletus was second and Clement third according to this source. Another source starts with S. Clement!

As far as either Scripture or Holy Tradition goes Peter wasn't pope.

Teaching the world about salvation.