Pope presides over final general audience

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI is preparing for his final general audience, the weekly appointment he kept with the faithful and tourists to teach them about the Catholic faith.

Some 50,000 tickets have been requested for Benedict's final master class in St. Peter's Square; thousands more people are expected to pack the main boulevard leading to the piazza to watch Wednesday's audience on giant TV screens.

On Tuesday, the Vatican said Benedict would in retirement continue to wear the white cassock of the papacy and be called "emeritus pope" or "Your Holiness," raising questions about the peculiar situation soon to confront the church: having a reigning and a retired pope, living side-by-side.

The Vatican says it foresees no problems and Benedict has said he will pray and be "hidden to the world."