Clock runs down on Pope Benedict XVI
- Published: 28 Feb 2013 at 10.43
- Online news: World
Pope Benedict XVI will meet cardinals from around the world on Thursday in his final hours as leader of 1.2 billion Catholics before he becomes the first pontiff to resign since the Middle Ages.
Pope Benedict XVI leaves the altar at the end of his last weekly audience on February 27, 2013 in St Peter's square at the Vatican. The pope will meet cardinals from around the world on Thursday in his final hours as leader of 1.2 billion Catholics before he becomes the first pontiff to resign since the Middle Ages
The 85-year-old pontiff stunned the globe when he announced his momentous decision in a surprise speech in Latin on February 11, saying he no longer had the "strength of mind and body" to carry on in a fast-changing modern world.
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