During his last general audience Pope Benedict XVI said: “I will not abandon the Cross, but will stay in a new way near Christ crucified. I will not hold any more the office to govern the Church, but in the service of prayer”.
When Benedict XVI was elected Pope, he presented himself as a great humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord. After nearly eight years, very tired, he returned the vineyard to be cultivated by someone else.
In the Byzantine Liturgy, during the reading of the Gospel at Vespers on Good Friday, the Crucifix is taken from the cross, wrapped in a sheet and buried under the altar from where He resurrected to life again.
The Cross (without the Crucifix) remains in the middle of the church for the veneration of the faithful.
Benedict XVI humbled himself, left the scene, yet left in the middle of the Church the lively Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Cross for all Christians is the tree of life which takes us to meet the unique Pastor of the Church.