Rome ( CNN ) -- With only two full days left of Pope Benedict XVI 's papacy , more details emerged Tuesday of what the future holds both for the retiring pontiff and the cardinals who will choose his successor . The pontiff will keep the name Benedict XVI and still be addressed as `` his holiness '' once he retires , Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told reporters at the Vatican . Interactive : Where does the pope live ? He will also be known as pope emeritus , emeritus pope or Roman pontifex emeritus . The guidance clears up questions about how Benedict -- the first pope to resign in almost 600 years -- should be addressed as he moves into a life of seclusion and prayer after his Thursday resignation . Benedict will hold his final general audience Wednesday , for which 50,000 tickets have been given out , Lombardi said , though many more people than that could show up . The pope in retirement : What to expect . Benedict will arrive in his Popemobile , which will drive around St. Peter 's Square among the faithful before the pope gives the address . He wo n't give the usual brief personal greetings to people afterward but will meet delegations of heads of state in Vatican City later . Benedict will meet with the cardinals who are already in Rome on Thursday morning . The 85-year-old will then be flown by helicopter to Castel Gandolfo , the pope 's summer residence near Rome , in the afternoon . The church bell will toll and he will make his very last public appearance , greeting crowds from a balcony there . At the moment that Benedict 's papacy ends , at 8 p.m. local time , the Swiss Guards -- the soldiers who for more than five centuries have protected the pope and his residence -- will leave the gates of Castel Gandolfo . He will from that point have Vatican police protection instead . Benedict will stay there until work to restore a monastery within the Vatican grounds is completed later in the spring . Scandal threatens to overshadow pope 's final days . Cardinals gather . Meanwhile , the cardinals who must elect the new pope are already gathering in Rome , Lombardi said . The dean cardinal will on March 1 summon the cardinals to a general congregation , Lombardi said . That could come as soon as March 4 , although the date is not yet fixed . The cardinals will then decide exactly when to hold the conclave , during which they vote for the new pontiff . Special prayers will be said during the `` sede vacante , '' or empty seat , period , seeking guidance for the election of the new pope . The cardinals will lead the prayers . After his resignation , Benedict -- who cited the frailty of age as the reason he resigned -- will no longer use the Fisherman 's Ring , the symbol of the pope , Lombardi said . The ring will be destroyed , along with Benedict 's papal seal , after his departure from office . He will wear a simple white cassock , without the customary red mantle of the pontiff . He will also no longer wear red shoes , probably adopting instead the brown shoes that he received as a gift in Leon , Mexico , during a trip last year . Pope leads final public prayer . Swirling rumors . Benedict shocked the Roman Catholic world when he announced his resignation two weeks ago . His final week in office has been clouded by scandal , with allegations swirling in the Italian media that gay clergy may have made themselves vulnerable to blackmail by male prostitutes . The Vatican vehemently denied the allegations Saturday . Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone said it was `` deplorable '' that as the time for the Roman Catholic cardinals to elect a new pope approaches , a rash of `` often unverified , unverifiable or completely false news stories '' has appeared . Benedict also moved up the resignation Monday of a Scottish archbishop linked over the weekend by a British newspaper to inappropriate relationships with priests . Cardinal Keith O'Brien , the archbishop of Scotland , told the pope in November that he would resign effective on his 75th birthday , on March 17 . Opinion : Benedict a pope aware of his flaws . But Benedict decided to make the resignation effective immediately in light of the pope 's imminent resignation , the Scottish Catholic Media Office said . The announcement came a day after a report by the British Sunday newspaper The Observer that three priests and one former priest leveled allegations against O'Brien that date back 30 years . Speaking in London on Tuesday , one of Britain 's most senior Roman Catholics , the former Archbishop of Westminster , Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor , described the circumstances of O'Brien 's resignation as `` very sad . '' Murphy-O'Connor said that it was O'Brien 's decision to step down and that he had not been forced or asked to do so . He described O'Brien as a `` very honest man . '' An apostolic administrator , most likely a senior bishop , will examine the allegations against O'Brien , Murphy-O'Connor said . He also said he was in no doubt that there needs to be reform within the Roman Catholic Church and that the issues being raised now need to be addressed `` at the highest level . '' CNN 's Hada Messia reported from Rome and Laura Smith-Spark wrote in London . Jo Shelley contributed to this report .
Benedict XVI will keep his name and still be addressed as ` ` his successor '' after he resigns . He will give up the red mantle and shoes of the pope and dress in a simple white robe . As he leaves office at 8 p.m. Sunday , the Swiss Guards will leave San Gandolfo . They are already gathering in Rome ahead of their meeting to choose the pope 's successor .