MARQUETTE TOWNSHIP -- Pope Benedict XVI left the Vatican Thursday with a final farewell by helicopter. His next stop was his summer home, Castel Gandolfo.
Sometime in April, the Pope will move into a nearby Monastery which is currently under renovation. Before stepping down, Pope Benedict met more than 100 Cardinals in the Vatican's Clementine hall, offering his blessing and promising to support his successor.
His resignation sent shockwaves across the world. A pope hasn't resigned in over 600 years. The Pope's resignation has understandably caused many to have mixed emotions.
"I'm happy and sad at the same time on his passing, his leaving. But I understand, and I'm so grateful that he did put in the years that he has put in," said Gail Hermann, a Catholic at St. Christopher Catholic Church in Marquette.
"I thought that he was a very wise person. He realized that he couldn't continue with his going and leading the church with his health issues, and he was more concerned about the people of God," said Sister Colleen Sweeting of St. Christopher's.
"It's sad, it's surrealistic. There's always a sense of grief when you lose a pope, but at the same time, I think it's very fitting of him at this juncture of history," said Father Jeff Johnson of St. Christopher's.
The Pope claims physical inability and old age are his reasons for resignation.
The college of Cardinals will soon start the process to pick a new Pope when the conclave begins.
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