|TOP|Wednesday marked the first anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI’s election as pontiff – the head of the Roman Catholic Church. During a special address, the pope stated that he could not do the job alone, and he asked Catholics worldwide to continue to pray for him to be the “gentle and firm” pastor of the Catholic Church.

In an emotional speech, Pope Benedict spoke to approximately 50,000 pilgrims that had gathered in St Peter’s Square, and told them that his election had come as a complete surprise to him.

He told that the cardinals had elected “my poor person” to succeed “the great Pope John Paul II”.

Pope Benedict said, “I always knew I couldn't do this job, this mission alone. Thank you from the heart to all those who in various ways are near me or follow me spiritually with affection and prayers from afar.”

|AD|“To each one of you, I ask you to continue to support me praying to God to let me be his gentle and firm pastor of his church,” he said.

Upon Pope Benedict’s election on 19th April last year, he become the oldest pope that has been elected in the past 275 years, and is the first German pope in nearly 1,000 years.

The result in choosing Pope John Paul II’s successor was the fastest conclave in a century with only approximately 24 hours passing from the first vote to when the new pope was announced.

Pope Benedict is a widely-known traditionalist in the Catholic Church, and it was feared that he might isolate the liberals within the Church. However, since he undertook his position he has been seen to have very much embraced a wide range of faiths and denominations in his works.

The Vatican this week made the announcement that more than 4 million people have in total joined Pope Benedict’s Masses, audiences and prayer appearances.