Pope Benedict XVI’s Resignation

A look at the mood in St. Peter’s Square

A young boy sits in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City. Many Catholics are stunned and even disappointed that Pope Benedict XVI is calling it quits when so many problems still face the Church, such as the controversial child sex abuse scandal and dwindling mass

attendance worldwide.

Catholics are scrambling to understand why Pope Benedict XVI, whose residence in the Apostolic Palace can be seen in the background, is resigning. He has reigned as Pontiff since 2005 and is stepping down on Feb. 28, making him the first Pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415, and the first to do so voluntarily since Celestine V in 1294. Vatican officials and clergy around the world, as seen here, are buzzing about who will succeed Benedict as the leader of the Church’s 1.2 billion followers.

Media from around the globe gather at the end of Via Della Concilazione in Rome, opposite St. Peter’s Basilica as seen in the background, to cover the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. The Pope announced last week that he will be resigning on Feb. 28, making him the first Pontiff to do so in nearly 600 years.

Catholics around the world are throwing their arms in the air asking why Pope Benedict XVI is resigning and doing what no Pontiff has done in nearly 600 years. The Apostolic Palace, seen here, will cease to be Benedict’s home as of 8:00p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 28 and will be his successor’s new residence sometime next month.

Pope Benedict XVI announced last week that he will be resigning on Feb. 28, leaving the Catholic Church in the hands of the next generation, as pictured here. Catholics around the world are awaiting to see who the next successor of St. Peter will be, whose statue in St. Peter’s Square is pictured here, as the Papal Conclave to elect the next Pontiff will be convoked next month.

Catholics from all over the world will be flocking to St. Peter’s Square in the coming weeks to await the chance to see the white smoke which will signal to the world that a new Pontiff has been elected. Pope Benedict XVI, who has been reigning since the death of Pope John Paul II in 2005, announced last week that he is resigning the Papacy on Feb. 28, leaving the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics wondering who will be their next leader.