Pope Benedict XVI resigning Feb. 28

Pope Benedict XVI announced Monday that he will resign at the end of the month because of his old age, CNN reported.
This is the first time a pope has stepped down in nearly 600 years. "Strength of body and mind are necessary" and he has recognized that he is incapable to complete the ministry, the pope said according to the Vatican reported CNN.
Cardinals will meet to choose a successor after his resignation on February 28 and by this Easter there will be a new pope, Rev. Fedrico Lombardi a Vatican spokesman said, CNN reported.
The next pope will likely continue Benedict's conservative tradition with issues like abortion, birth control, and divorce, John Allen CNN Senior Vatican Analyst said.
The 85-year-old pope was elected at the age of 78, the oldest pope elected in nearly 300 years. Before his election he was planning to retire as the Vatican's chief orthodoxy watchdog to spend his final years writing in his native Bavaria, The Associated Press reported.
Benedict said he would serve the church for the rest of his life. The Vatican said after his resignation he would go to Castel Gandolfo in the south of Rome to live in monastery, The Associated Press reported.
All cardinals under the age of 80 are allowed to vote in a secret meeting at the Sistine Chapel to elect a new pope. In 2007 Benedict passed a decree that a two-thirds majority is required to elect a new pope, The Associated Press reported.