Top ten papal resignation facts as Pope Benedict XVI quits the papacy

METRO (UK) [11/02/13]

By Jimmy Nsubuga

Pope Benedict XVI says Mass in New York (Picture: AFP/Getty)

It has been announced Pope Benedict XVI will take the unusual step of resigning his position as leader of the worldwide Catholic Church and will leave the papal office on February 28. We have come up with ten facts linked to the resignation of popes in office.

10 Pope John Paul II also anticipated he may not be able to serve his term and stated in a letter that he would automatically resign his position if he had an illness that prevented him from doing his job.

9 A new pope will be elected by the end of March by the papal conclave, a meeting of the College of Cardinals.

8 Pope Benedict IX left the office in 1045 for ‘financial gain’.

7 Paddy Power is offering bets on the name of the next pope. Peter is 4/1, Pius is 5/1 and John Paul is 6/1.

6 Gregory VI resigned as pope in 1046 after he was accused of paying Benedict IX for the role.

Pope Benedict XVI will resign on February 28 (Picture: AP)

[SOURCE: http://metro.co.uk]

5 It took only five months for Pope Celestine V to give up his title in 1294 after issuing a decree making it possible to relinquish the position.

4 Pope Pius VII intended to give up his position if he was imprisoned in France but this never transpired.

3 Benedict XVI is the first pope to resign in almost 600 years after Gregory XII did so in 1415.

2 The oldest pope ever was Leo XIII, who was 93 years and 140 days old when he died in 1903.

1 Pius XII stated he would resign as pope if he was kidnapped by Nazis. He wrote up a document that said the Cardinals should leave Portugal and find a new leader if this happened but it never did.