Benedict XVI Formally Resigns the Papacy
Thursday, February 28th, 2013February 28, 2013
Benedict XVI formally abdicates as pope of the Roman Catholic Church and left the Vatican for Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer residence southeast of Rome. Before leaving, he met with the College of Cardinals and promised “unconditional obedience and reverence” to his eventual successor.
An estimated 150,000 people packed into St. Peter’s Square yesterday to attend Benedict’s final general audience. He stated that his papacy had been “a heavy burden,” but he accepted that burden as God’s will. He has, in his nearly eight years in office, known “moments of joy and light but also moments that were not easy” when it seemed “the Lord was sleeping.” He asked the more than 1 billion Roman Catholics throughout the world to pray for him “and for the new pope.”

Benedict XVI blesses a crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City. (© Arturo Mari, Getty Images)
Benedict’s papacy was often mired in controversy. An ever-expanding clerical sex abuse scandal undermined his status as a highly regarded teacher and theologian. Vatican investigations into women’s religious orders in the United States angered many American Catholics. Vatican officials voiced concern over the adherence of American nuns to church doctrine, in particular their advocating for political action, for the ordination of women, and for greater acceptance of homosexuals.
Benedict XVI will eventually retire–”hidden to the world” in his words–to a former convent within the Vatican. On March 4, the College of Cardinals will meet in a general congregation to set a date for the start of a conclave to elect Benedict’s successor. The electors consist of 115 cardinals (those cardinals younger than 80 years old), 67 of whom were appointed by Benedict XVI and the rest by his predecessor John Paul II.
Additional World Book articles:
- Pope
- Roman Catholic Church 2006 (a Back in Time article)
- Roman Catholic Church 2010 (a Back in Time article)
- John Paul II 1920-2005 (a special report)