Pope Benedict XVI to Resign as Pontiff
February 11, 2013
Pope Benedict XVI summoned a meeting of cardinals in Vatican City and announced that he would step down from his role as leader of the Roman Catholic Church and its 1.2 billion members on February 28, 2013. The pontiff stated that his age and deteriorating strength no longer permitted him to perform his papal duties. Vatican officials and Roman Catholics around the world were stunned by the news. Centuries have elapsed since a pope resigned from office. The last was Gregory XII, who left office under pressure in 1415 to end what is known as the Great Schism–a period of civil war within the church when three different men each claimed to be pope. The last voluntary resignation by a pope was even longer ago, when Celestine V abdicated in 1294.
After Benedict’s resignation takes effect, cardinals will gather at a conclave in the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. Of the 118 cardinals currently eligible to vote, two-thirds of them must agree on a candidate for that man to become pope. Church officials hoped that a new pope could be chosen by Easter (March 31) of 2013.
Benedict XVI at his inaugural Mass in St. Peter's Square in 2005 (© Franco Origlia, Getty Images)
Benedict had served as pope for fewer than eight years. Born Joseph Ratzinger in Germany in 1927, he was appointed as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in 1977.
He was elected the 265th pope in 2005 and took the name of Benedict. At age 78, he was one of the oldest men elected to the papacy. Benedict held office during a difficult time in the history of the modern church. His papacy was dogged by controversy, particularly the sexual abuse of children by Roman Catholic clergy members. When he was a cardinal, Benedict had been head of the church’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the office that oversees such priestly abuse. As pope, Benedict apologized for any harm done to children abused by Catholic clergy.
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