117 Cardinals in conclave to elect successor to Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI, who will be resigning at the end of this month, will become the first pope in six centuries to resign the papal office.

But he will not be able to participate in the conclave that will pick his successor, because Vatican law says cardinal-electors have to be younger than 80 to participate. However, a 1996 papal decree establishing the norms governing the vacancy of the Apostolic See and the election of the Roman Pontiff says that Cardinals over 80 can take part in the preparatory meetings of the conclave.

Benedict XVI would technically retain the title, Bishop of Rome Emeritus.

Benedict announced his resignation at the end of Monday's consistory for causes for canonization.

"I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonizations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the Church. After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry," Benedict said.

"In order to govern the barque of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfil the ministry entrusted to me."

Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, expressed "his nearness and that of all the cardinals" to the Pope, the Vatican News Agency reported.

"Allow me to say that we are closer than ever to you, as we have been during these almost eight luminous years of your pontificate... You have said that you will always be near us with your witness and your prayer. Of course, the stars always continue to shine and so will the star of your pontificate always shine among us. We are near to you, Holy Father, and we ask you to bless us."

Fr Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See Press Office, said that among the reasons for the Pope's resignation, were "the circumstances of today's world that, in relation to the past, are particularly difficult, both because of the speed as well as the number of events and problems that arise that, therefore, need a vigour, perhaps stronger than in the past. It is a vigour that the Pope says he has felt diminish in him in recent months."

The Pope will continue to fully carry out his functions and his service until 28 February at 8:00pm. From that moment on the situation of Sede Vacante will begin.

The Pope's announcement is consistent with what he declared in the book 'Light of the World' by Peter Seewald, based on interviews with Benedict XVI. "When a Pope realizes clearly that he is no longer physically, mentally, and spiritually capable of carrying out his role, then there is legally the possibility, and also the obligation, to resign."

The Pope will move to Castel Gandolfo on 28 February, and, once he has finished the tasks he has in progress, he will take up residence in the former cloistered monastery in the Vatican. The process for the election of a new Pope will begin on 1 March.

The exact date of the conclave is not yet known, but there will be no need to wait the normal eight days of mourning after the death of the Pope. In two weeks during the month of March, in time for Easter, there will be a new Pope.

Benedict XVI will have no role in next March's conclave, nor in the running of the Church during the time between popes, because the Apostolic Constitution gives no role in this transition to a pope who resigns."

The conclave to elect the successor of Benedict XVI will be led by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, appointed by Benedict XVI on 4 April 2007.

The Cardinal electors, by their continents of provenance, will be 61 Europeans, 19 Latin Americans, 14 North Americans, 11 Africans, 11 Asians, and 1 from Oceania. These figures may vary depending on the date that the conclave opens: for example, Cardinal Walter Kasper will turn 80 on 5 March.

The country with the greatest number of Cardinal electors is Italy, with 21.

67 of the electors were created by Benedict XVI and the remaining 50 by John Paul II.

One of John Paul II's innovations regarding the period of conclave was that the Cardinal electors, of whom there will be 117 on 28 February, will be housed in the Vatican residence Casa Santa Marta, which is independent from the place where they vote, the Sistine Chapel.

The Cardinal electors must remain in the Vatican during the entire period of conclave, and no one can approach them when they move from the Sistine Chapel to their place of residence or vice versa. All forms of communication with the outside world are prohibited. As in the past, the Sistine Chapel stove will be used to burn the ballots after each vote.