(MCT) — VATICAN CITY — Before tens of thousands of people under clear blue skies, Pope Benedict XVI recalled a papacy full of both joy and difficulty as he held his final general audience Wednesday, the eve of his retirement as leader of the world’s Roman Catholics.

Cheers filled St. Peter’s Square as Benedict rode his special Pope-mobile amid the crowds who had started gathering early in the morning. National flags fluttered alongside banners bearing the simple word “Grazie,” or “thanks.”