Pope Benedict To Retire At The End Of The Month

The world is waking up to some pretty big news out of Vatican City.  Pope Benedict says he will resign his position.  This is some pretty big news because the last time a sitting Pope stepped down, was in 1415.

Pope Benedict said through his spokesman that at 85 years old, he feels like he no longer has the strength to carry on the daunting task of leading the one billion followers of the Roman Catholic Church.

The Pope was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger when he was elected Pope after the death of Pope John Paul in April, 2005.  He was 78 when he was elected.

The Vatican will hold a conclave by mid-March to elect a new Pope.  Traditionally, a nine day period of mourning after the death of a Pope is observed, but that isn’t the case in a resignation of a Pope.

Ash Wednesday is a couple of days away, Easter Sunday is March 31^st, Pope Benedict steps down February 28^th.  This is shaping up to be a busy Lenten season for the Vatican and Roman Catholics.