Vatican to Have Two Popes

Benedict XVI will continue to wear a white cassock and will be known as Pope Emeritus after he resigns the papacy on Thursday, the Vatican said.

The honorific title added further confusion to Benedict’s exact status after his historic resignation, muddying the lines between his papacy and that of his successor, the Telegraph reported.

The Vatican had earlier indicated that his most likely title would be Bishop Emeritus of Rome, so as not to give the impression that the Catholic Church has two Popes, a scenario that has led to damaging schisms in past centuries.

The 85-year-old German pontiff will continue to be addressed as “His Holiness” after he abdicates and goes into retirement.

His official papal ring, which shows St Peter fishing, will be destroyed with a hammer according to Vatican tradition.

The task of smashing it is entrusted to the ‘camerlengo’ or chamberlain, in this case Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican Secretary of State.