Pope Benedict XVI to resign at the end of February


Published February 11, 2013

FoxNews.com
Pope Benedict XVI will resign at the end of February, the Vatican Press Office tells Fox News.

A spokesman for the Vatican did not have any more information and did not reveal a possible reason for
the 85-year-old's resignation.

The last pope to resign was Pope Gregory XII, who stepped down in 1415 in a deal to end the Great Western
Schism among competing papal claimants.

The move sets the stage for the Vatican to hold a conclave to elect a new pope by mid-March, since the
traditional mourning time that would follow the death of a pope doesn't have to be observed.

There are several papal contenders in the wings, but no obvious front-runner as was the case when
Benedict was elected pontiff in 2005 after the death of Pope John Paul II.


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february/#ixzz2KacXRoxf