Tens of thousands of people gathered at Saint Peter's Square in Vatican City on Wednesday morning for their final chance to see the Pope.

The weekly general audience is generally held indoors in a large auditorium, but it was moved outside to be able to accommodate the crowd.

The Pope is set to meet cardinals in Rome Thursday before his resignation goes into effect.

The Vatican announced that Pope Benedict will be known as "Pope Emeritus Benedict the 16th" or "Roman Pontiff Emeritus Benedict the 16th".

Earlier this week, the Pope signed a document that could push up the conclave for cardinals to decide a new Pope.