Morning. Im matt lauer. And im savannah guthrie. Cant say that this is unprecedented for a pope to just step down, but you have to go back 1600 years to find another example of it. Pope benedict xvi announcing he is stepping down as leader of the Catholic Church. Huge news for the worlds 1 billion catholics. And noncatholics as well. The 85yearold pope made the announcement moments ago, saying his strength is no longer adequate to carry on his duties. In a moment well talk about the decision with Timothy Cardinal dolan, the highest ranking catholic here in the united states. Claudeio is in rome. This morning, would you say this is total surprise . Reporter matt, this was total surprise. Always clear that Pope Benedict xvi was getting weaker by the month. Every time we saw him coming out on official celebration, he did look weaker and weaker, but then he again he is an 85yearold man. John paul ii before him was even in worse shape and he did not resign. Nobody was really expecting him to resign or abdicate, as was said in a previous conversation. So, it did come as a surprise, for sure. We have, just right here at the vatican right now in st. Peters square, there are a few faces that express his belief when asked what the cameras are all about. Im telling them that the pope is about to resign. Nobody can really believe that because that is unprecedented in modern times. There was a pope in the 13th century that resigned but certainly this hasnt happen ed there is concern that this is more than just a pope aging, that there are more health concerns. Have you heard anything like that . Reporter there are a lot of allegations, of course, in the house of Pope Benedict xvi, a lot of rumors going around in the past few months that he wasnt doing so well. But as usual as ever with the vatican, its always very fickle to get complete and full survey on the Actual Health of the pope as, you know were talking about the leader of the catholics and they dont want to raise an alarm. We probably will hear about the real reasons behind this decision in the next hours or days but certainly the pope has said it himself, he just does not have the strength anymore to carry on as leader of the Catholic Church. Right. Claudio, he the Statement Reads after having repeatedly examined my conscience before god, viacom to the certainty that my strengths, due to advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the petrine ministry. You would expect that a pope making this kind of historic announcement would have done so in a bigger fashion. Reporter yes, indeed. I mean, i have heard reactions from a few cardinals who didnt even know about it. The pope, making such a strong, important and unprecedented in modern times, decision, you would expect that he would have been talked to the cardinals first and made them aware. Clearly, he hasnt. This is a decision that he has made personally and this has always been a lowkey pope. He hasnt been the media star that john paul ii used to be. He has just tidecided to stay te to his character. And made the announcement not lock like such a big deal. Claudio lavagna in rome. We will be check iing in with y throughout the morning. And now with more here is savannah. Thanks, matt. A consultant, thank you for being with us. Hello. George, its savannah. An incredibly surprising turn of events. What is the process for replace ing a pope under these circumstances . Savannah, lets pause on that first statement just a moment. This is a surprise in that it hasnt happened in 717 years, but its not a surprise in that benedict xvi has, on several public occasions and in his most recent interview book said that if he ever reached the judgment in conscience, as that statement said today, that he could not give the church the service it deserves because of advancing age or ill health that he would abdicate. I think its a great statement about the humility of joseph ratzinger, as he will become at the moment of his abdication once again. And in a strange way, this is his last Great Service to the church. He wants the church to have the kind of strong leadership that it needs. As i understand it, the process will unfold rather much like the process would unfold had the pope died except for the fact that the cardinals will obviously now be gathering in rome in the weeks before february 28th so that they can enter the conclave immediately on the abdication of the pope and begin the process of choosing his successor, which could take several days or several weeks. For those who are not familiar with this process, the papal conclave will be convened and require a twthirds majority among the cardinals to elect a successor . Thats correct. And one thing about the timing of this that is interesting is that the college of cardinals is now just about as full as it can be. The maximum number of the electors is set at 120. I think were almost there right now. So, this will be the largest conclave in history when it convenes either on february 28th or on march 1st. George weigel, im going to ask you to stand by. We have greg burke on the phone from vatican city. Thank you for being with us on what i know is a busy morning for you. Good morning. Yes, its a little hectic, straight away. The first question is how much of a surprise was this . Clearly the pope was not in great health. He had talked about his willingness to step aside if he felt his health was such that he couldnt perform the duties of pope and yet we hear from our producer in rome, real surprise, almost shock at this. Well, it is a surprise. Although i think people had fair warning because it was a few years ago in a book called light of the world, a book that i suggest to a lot of people, long interview with the german journalist, peter seawald and the journalist asked the pope if he would resign at any time. He said something interesting, because this was in the midst of a scandal and all that stuff. And he said well, now is certainly not the time. Its not a time to run when youre at great risk or in an emergency period. But he said, i do believe there are times when a pope, if he doesnt have the strength, can and even should resign. So, we did have fair warning, but at the same time since it is something that hasnt happened in centuries, it always does come as a surprise. Greg, of course, it raises the nationural questions of whas going on with the pope . The popes brother said that his doctor said no trans atlantic trips. We see his weakening gait, using a cane in certain weeks. Is there anything severe about his pope . I dont want to give my dad a hard time but hes 90. When i think about my dad, i think about the pope. I think twice before i say, hey, dad, lets go to new york. Ill meet you there at easter. Something i did up until a couple of years ago. And i think the pope is exactly the same way with, you know, people have seen him. He has had a harder time walking, started using the cane. On the other hand just the other night he looked very tired but spoke off the cuff for well over a half hour. And as the pope has done for shown for years, great, great intelligence. But clearly, physically, he doesnt feel up to the job. And i think this is somewhat an act of humility to admit that. Before i let you go, how much advance notice did Church Leaders have . How much planning has there been now for this papal conclave that will elect a new pope . A couple of top officials have known for quite some time. Certainly for several weeks. I was told that just this morning. I only found out a few hours beforehand from the popes chief of staff, but the chief of staff had known for a few weeks now. And, you know, theyre used to this. I know its huge news, but the romans one pope dies and along you elect another one. Thats the old phrase here in rome. In this case it isnt the pope dying, obviously. Its him resigning. But in the process of a conclave, that works just the way it does every other time. Greg burke from rome, thank you very much. Appreciate your time. Thank you. His eminence, Cardinal Timothy dolan is the archbishop of new york, just walked over from st. Patricks cathedral down the block after hearing the news. Good morning. Matt, thank you. Appreciate the invitation to join you. We talked to you and you were just getting word of this. You can confirm that im started. Im as started as the rest of you and as anxious to find out exactly whats going on. So apparently it is confirmed. When you called first, matt, you and i both chuckled and thought this might be another rumor, but it sure enough is confirmed. I find myself eager for some news. I find myself itching to rooech read the statement in latin. I hope you can translate it. Good luck with that. That the holy father made. And i find myself kind of somber. In a way i love this pope. Every catholic feels the pope is his father. We call him our holy father. The world looks to him with respect and affection. I sense a special bond with him. He is the one that appointed me to you all as archbishop of new york. Im wearing the ring he gave me and the cross he gave me. I feel a particular bond with him. And a note of sadness, to be honest with you. On the other hand, my appreciation for him, which is already high, is enhanced a bit because with the sense of realism, that he has such an esteem for the office of the successor of st. Peter, which is what the pope is, the bishop of rome, the successor of st. Peter, that he says, you know, i may not be up to it now. Perhaps i can best serve jesus and his church and his people by stepping aside. So i have to admire him. And even as we stop and pay tribute to what he has meant to the papacy and the church now, an enormous responsibility falls on your shoulders. Yes, it does. And the shoulders around the cardinals of the world. Yes, it does. Boy, ive never been through this before. Im still unpacking the red s socks from a year ago when i was made cardinal. I dont exactly know, except by prayer, which i already do a bunch of and need to do more of. Except for prayer, i dont know what else to do. Ill await instructions with everybody else. There will be, and you help me out. You always correct me on this. There will be a period of sata viconte. You got it. Latin word, chair and viconte, empty. So that chair will be vacant after february 28th and then the college of cardinals, pastors of parishes in rome. Myself a member. You came to my church in rome, our lady of valupe. We get together in conclave to elect a new successor of rome. Is there a short list, as it were . Well, if you look, a good police to start would be to look at Pope Benedict. Theres a learning, theres a savviness about the world. Theres a theological depth, unquestionable personal piety and holiness. Theres a linguistic talent. Those would be qualities you look for. As a cardinal are you allowed to vote for yourself . No. Only crazy people. Your eminence, its awfully nice for you to walk over here. I appreciate the invitation. You were one of the first people i spoke to. I promised you a long time ago that when this sad day would come i would be at your service. Sadly, you mentioned, mixed emotion. There are mixed emotions. I love the guy. One thing everybody notices is humility. Almost from the beginning he shrugged and said, boy, compared to john paul ii, i dont know if im up to this, but with gods grace and mercy, ill give it a shot. He has done well for almost eight years. Hes winsome in his humble acknowledgement in his frailty and weakness. Its touched all our hearts. Again, pleasure to have you here. Thank you all. Well have more on the popes decision to resign throughout the morning. But we want to get to natalie, who is here with a check of the other top stories of the morning. Good morning to you. Good morning to you, savannah. Good morning, everyone. Trail of destruction across southern mississippi this morning after a powerful tornado tore through three counties. Reynolds wolf is in West Hattiesburg with the latest. Good day. Reporter good morning to you. Im coming to you from right downtown hattiesburg. Damaged by the tornado that came through yesterday and an immense tornado, half a mile wide. It came through right around i would say late afternoon, early evening hours. Whats incredible is that although there was extensive damage and there were 50 people that were injured, thankfully, no fatalities at this time, natalie. That is a miracle. One of the key things comes back to timing this happened on a late sunday afternoon. People were not in church at that time. Students were not in Church Students were not on campus. A lot of the students were down in new orleans, preparing to celebrate for fat tuesday, for mardi gras. The timing of this was truly perfect. The cleanup will get under way in a matter of hours. Over 5,000 customers without power as we speak. We cruise down the roadways, many roads have been impassable at this point. Theyre going around, trying to restore line in many of the places that have been toppled by strong winds and certainly by many of the trees that have been damaged. To understand the full scope of the damage in this community or surrounding area, the reason why is because this happened late in the afternoon into the early evening. So we had a chance to see this from high above. National Weather Service will go up in a series of helicopters, give us a better idea of the full scope of this and give us a better understanding of how to stay safe when these systems strike. Back to you, natalie. Reynolds wolf in hattiesburg, mississippi, thank you very much. Stranded in the gulf of mexico this morning after an engine room fire disabled the ship and it will take days now for it to be towed back to land. Tom costello is following this breaking story as well. Good morning. Natalie, good morning. This is the Carnival Cruise ship triumph. A fourday cruise that left galveston, texas, friday. It is now drifting after a fire in the engine room. 150 miles off the mexican yucatan coast. The fire was put out by a Sprinkler System on board and the crew. It has left the ship withoutny propulsion. It is drifting, operating on emergency power and a tugboat is en route. It should arrive some time this morning. There are about 3,100 passengers and a crew of more than 1,000. They are being given food and refreshments, another Carnival Cruise ship pulled alongside to help and the coast guard cutter vigorous was also dispatched as well. The plan is to tow the ship to a port in mexico, where passengers will deboard and then be flown to houston. The next two departures set for today and saturday have been canceled. Carnival says the passengers who booked on those next two trips will be given full refunds and discounts toward future cruises. The passengers on board this ship will be given full refunds, reimbursements for travel expenses and discount for future fiveday cruises, hopefully with power and propulsion. Back to you. Tom costello, following that story. All three people on board were killed when a chopper went down. The helicopter was working on a Reality Tv Show for the Discovery Channel when it went down. Its never a good sign when a mascot attacks its own team. Things just got worse and worse at this Minor League Hockey team when the condors brought out their namesake. First eluding its handler, sending him for a spill on the ice. After getting back on the ice, incited bird that went on a war path, attacking the condors in their box. After some pecking, the bird decided to hit the showers, even walking into the locker room. Not sure what he was looking for. The wrath of the condor. Really went in the locker room . Locker room. Trashed the place . From the heart of the locker room mr. Roker, big weekend for you in the weather department. Great job, by the way. Thank you very much. We still have a lot going on. Down to the south, south the sa system that caused tornadoes in mississippi is causing more problems. Flooding throughout new orleans into the southeast. Were talking two to four inches of rain. Some areas, even higher. North of that system we have icing conditions. We have winter storm watches. We have Winter Weather advisories and freezing rain advisories for the northeast and a new england already add aing insult to injury for areas that dealt with more than 40 inches of snow. Well have your local forecast after these messages. Good morning. Most of the overnight steady rain has moved east of the bay. Behind it we have scattered showers across virginia, maryland and around the district. Everything is wet from the overnight rain. You may need extra time and a winter coat. Still in the upper 30s. Well reach upper 50s by later this afternoon after the rain ends. Sun back tomorrow. Breezy and colder. And thats your latest weather. All right, al. Thank you very much. Coming up, we are staying on top of this mornings breaking news, Pope Benedict xvi announcing he is resigning effective february 28th. For the first time we are hearing from the navy s. E. A. L. Who claims he is the one to shoot Osama Bin Laden. His story. But first this is today on nbc. Coming yup, the grammys. Some missed the memo . I saw a leg. We wont mention. Not allowed to talk about that. But first your local news and weather. Hi. John stamos. Enchante this is too good to be true. Dannon oikos nonfat yogurt. Delicious yet healthy. Sounds too good to be true. There are things that are too good to be true. Such as dannon oikos. Thick, creamy, with 0 fat and twice the protein. Of regular lowfat yogurt mmm huh. 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