Pope Benedict is to stand down as leader of the Catholic church on February 28.
Pope Benedict is to step down as leader of the Catholic church on February 28. Report by Mail Online
The Pontiff, pictured yesterday at a mass to celebrate the 900th anniversary of the Knights of Malta, has been in office since April 2005 when he succeeded Pope John Paul II.
The 85-year-old’s decision is highly unusual – the last Pope to stand down was Gregory XII in 1415. In his resignation announcement, His Holiness said that his ‘strength of mind and body had deteriorated so greatly in the last few months that he could no longer continue with his ministry’.
