Pope Benedict XVI, 97, who has been considered a guardian of the faith, upholding the traditional teachings of the church leading the clergy in the defense of the faith, announced Feb 11,2013 he is resigning as Bishops of Rome and Pope effective at the end of the month.

Regarded as one of the sharpest theologians in the church both before and during his pontificate, in person he was soft spoken and grandfatherly. It was those latter qualities that endeared him to the public although it didn't spare him controversy and negative media coverage.

He was elected pope at the age of 78, having served as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for 25 years. He carried his role as defender of the faith into his papacy, tightening up norms related to priests who sexually abuse minors, appointing apostolic visitators to communities with irregularities, and trying to bring schismatic groups back into communion with the church and all her teachings.

In the first five years of his papacy he had to deal with the aftermath of the clerical sex abuse scandal in the U.S. and the revelation of a widespread cover up of abuse cases in Ireland and parts of Europe. While critics claimed Vatican reaction was slow and lenient, it was under Pope Benedict's reign that Marcial Maciel, founder of the Legionaries of Christ, was investigated and sentenced to the life of prayer and penitence.

He wrote a letter to the faithful of Ireland in 2010 after widespread cover up of abuse cases was discovered. At the same time rules were changed to include the possession of child pornography as a grave violation of cannon law.

Pope Benedict managed to surprise people with his moves to uphold the unity of the church. In 2009 he overturned the excommunication of four bishops from the Society of Pius X in order to begin the process of bringing the association into communion with Rome. Talks with the traditionalist group continued to 2013.

The first years of his papacy were not without some controversy, but again he built bridges in unexpected places. In a 2006 address at the University of Regensburg he quoted a Byzantine scholar who linked Islam with violence. Many Muslim leaders were offended and outraged.

In response to the speech, 138 Muslim scholars wrote an open letter to Pope Benedict, outlining their concerns with the content of the Regensburg speech. This to the creation of the International Catholic Muslim forum in 2008. In 2009 Prince Ghazi of Jordan publicly thanked the pope for his apologies and for receiving the open letter positively.

Pope Benedict's German nationality raised concerns among some Jewish groups, but he reached out making visits to the Synagogue of Cologne, Germany in 2006, Park Lane Synagogue in New York in 2008, the Rome Synagogue in 2010. During his 2009 pilgrimage to the Holy Land he went to the Western Wall to pray at one of the Judaism's holiest sites.

Known for his hard line on doctrinal matters, he also gained a reputation as a "green" pope, drawing attention to environmental issues and calling for greater stewardship of the Earth. In 2007 Vatican City went green, installing solar panels on the Paul VI audience hall, allowing it to generate its own electricity.

His tenure as pope include the economic crisis that began in 2007, one of the worst economic crises in modern times. Pope Benedict repeatedly called for a paradigm shift in the world's economic system, focusing the real needs of youth and families instead of just profits. His 2009 encyclical Caritas in Veritate called for a development that takes into consideration the whole person.

Rise to the top

Pope Benedict's theology was based on years of study, ministry and Vatican experience and his down to earth, unpretentious manner came from a humble upbringing in rural Germany. He was born in Marktl am Inns, on April 16, 1927. His father, a policeman, came from a long line of farmers and his mother worked as a cook in local hotels before marrying.

His faith formation began in Traunstein, a small village near the Austrian border, just 30 kilometers from Salzburg. This was also where his love of Mozart was formed.

It was the faith education he received at home that prepared him to deal with the harsh reality of Nazi hostility toward the Catholic Church. As a young boy he witnessed a parish priest being beaten by Nazis just before celebrating Mass. In the midst of this he discovered the truth and beauty of faith in Christ and followed his older brother Georg into the seminary. He began his formation for the priesthood in 1939, only to have it interrupted by World War II.

At the time it was obligatory for all young boys to enroll in the Hitler Youth. In a book of memoirs Pope Benedict recalled that he was enrolled in the organization by school at the age of 14 along with all his classmates. With the beginning of the war the seminary was turned into a military hospital. The Ratzinger brothers returned to living at home with their parents and sister and stopped attending Hitler Youth meetings even though they would have been granted a reduction in their tuition if they attended meetings.

By 1943 a new home had been found for the former students of the Traunstein seminary. The entire class was moved to military barracks in Munich where they continued their courses and lived like soldiers. In 1944 the class was released, free to return home. Pope Benedict, has just arrived home when he was drafted into the work service of the Reich. He was stationed in the Austrian Burgenland but after a few months was unexpectedly sent home. He was soon assigned to the barracks in Traunstein where he went through basic traning. His unit never saw combat, instead they spent their time marching through the city singing war songs. In April 1945 there was a real chance that he would be called to the frontline. At that point he deserted the army and went home.

When American forces set up headquarters in the Ratzinger house in Traunstein and realized Pope Bendict was a former solidier, he was forced to put on his uniform once again and surrender to the Allies. He spent several months in a U.S. prisoner-of-war camp in Bad Aibling before being released and returned to Traunstein.

The Ratzinger brothers were able to return to the major seminary in Freising in 1946 to continue their priestly formation. In 1951 both brothers were ordained to the priesthood in Freising and celebrated their first masses in Traunstein on the same day.

The younger Ratzinger was posted to a parish in Munich where he would serve as assistant. After only a year he was called to the seminary in Freising to serve as instructor and confessor. It was only the beginning of his academic career.

He studied at the University of Munich where he received a doctorate and licentiate in theology. He went on to teach dogmatic and fundamental theology at the University of Freising, and lectured and the University of Bonn, Muenster, and Tubingen. In 1969 he held the chair of dogmatics and history of dogma and served as vice-president of the University of Regensburg.

His family was an important part of his vocation and ministry. By the time he was appointed professor in Freising his parents were aging and ready for a different pace. He moved them into his home Freising. When he was called to teach at the University of Bonn his sister Maria went with him to keep house while his parents moved back to Traunstein where Georg Ratzinger was posted. After their parents' deaths Maria would stay at her younger brother's side, moving with him to Muenster, Tubingen, Regensburg, Munich and eventually Rome. The three siblings made every effort to spend holidays together, despite the distances.

Pope Benedict attended the Second Vatican Council as a young priest and theological consultant to Cardinal Joseph Frings, the Archbishop of Cologne. He was said to have played a key role discussions among German-speaking participants, and gained a reputation as a progressive theologian. The experience also led to him to important roles with the German Bishops' Conference and the International Theological Comission.

In 1972, along with Hans Urs von Balthasar and Henri de Lubac he started the theological journal "Communio". In 2012 there were 14 editions of Communio published in Europe, Latin America and the United States.

Pope Benedict was appointed Bishop of Munich and Freising in 1977. He was the first diocesan priest in 80 years to be appointed head of that diocese. He chose the phrase "cooperators of truth" as his Episcopal motto, explaining the choice saying "On the one hand I saw it as the relation between my previous task as professor and my new mission. In spite of different approaches, what was involved, and continued to be so, was following the truth and being at its service. On the other hand I chose that motto because in today's world the theme of truth is omitted almost entirely, as something too great for man, and yet everything collapses if truth is missing". That same year he was elevated to the College of Cardinals.

In 1981 Pope John Paul II appointed him prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the faith. He also served as president of the preparatory commission for the Catechism of the Catholic Church and in 1992 presented the finished work to the Holy Father. He was appointed Vice-Dean of the College of Cardinals in 1998 and in 2002 was made Dean. That meant he would play a key role in the 2005 preparations for the funeral of John Paul II and the resulting conclave. In 1997, while still head of the congregation for the Doctrine of the faith, he reportedly asked John Paul II to appoint him Cardinal Librarian of the Vatican Library, but his request was denied. He continued on as head of the Vatican's doctrinal congregation and served as a consultor to various other Vatican councils and congregations, including the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, for Bishops, for the Evangelization of Peoples, for the Causes of Saints, and Pontifical Councils for Promoting Christian Unity, for Culture, and the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura as well as the Comissions for the correct interpretation of the Code of Canon Law, and "Ecclessia Dei."

While his resignation was billed as unprecedented, it was not entirely unexpected. In the 2010 book Light of the World, he told German journalist Peter Seewald he thought it was appropriate for a pontiff to resign if and when he no longer has the strength to carry out his Petrine ministry. In the same book he told Seewald he felt is own strength diminishing.

His decision to resign is considered by many another lesson delivered by a master theologian.

Official translation from Latin of the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI

Dear Brothers,

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. I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. However, in today's world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark 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 fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.

For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a Conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.

Dear Brothers, I thank you most sincerely for all the love and work with which you have supported me in my ministry and I ask pardon for all my defects. And now, let us entrust the Holy Church to the care of Our Supreme Pastor, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and implore his holy Mother Mary, so that she may assist the Cardinal Fathers with her maternal solicitude, in electing a new Supreme Pontiff. With regard to myself, I wish to also devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer.

From the Vatican, 10 February 2013

When Popes Resign
Alicia Ambrosio

With his announcement February 11, 2013, Pope Benedict XVI becomes one of only four popes to resign. The last time a pope resigned from the Chair of Peter was 1415, in effort to end a major schism.

The Code of Canon Laws allows for a pope to resign. The only conditions are that the decision be made freely and be publicly manifested. There is no specific person or body that must accept a pope's resignation. Benedict XVI fulfilled these requirements, making his announcement at the end of a consistory of cardinals, in the presence of Vatican Television Cameras, ready to broadcast his announcement to the World.

The four popes who resigned from the papacy were:

• Benedict IX
• Gregory VI
• Celestine V
• Gregory XII

Benedict IX was a less than exemplary pope. He was the nephew of his two predecessors and it is said he viewed the papacy as his inheritance. He actually resigned twice, once for a large sum of money. This would have taken place around 1045.

Gregory XII was the next pope to resign in 1046 He was so disgusted with Benedict IX way of life he paid the pope to resign. However, even though Gregory XII's election was greeted with joy, it did not bring peace to the church. Furthermore a Synod decided that the way in which he became pope was equal to simony, and convinced him that the honorable thing to do was resign.

Celestine V reigned in 1294 after only five months as Pope. He issued a solemn decree declaring that it was permissible for a pope to abdicate, and then went ahead and did so himself. He lived another two years after he resigned, and died a hermit.

Gregory XII stepped down in 1415 to put an end to the Western Schism. At the time of his resignation there were three claimants to the papacy. Gregory believed resigning would settle the question of papal succession, so convened the Council of Constance and authorized that council to elect his successor.

Pope Benedict XVI's resignation comes after a lengthy process of discernment. The German newsite Spiegel Online spoke to the pope's brother, Fr. Georg Ratzinger. The elder Ratzinger said his brother informed him of his decision over the summer. The elder Ratzinger said he did not offer his brother advice or try to influence his decision adding, "the responsibility is his and his alone, the decision is one he reached himself."

This modern-era resignation also raises new questions related to the upcoming papal transition, such as where the retired pope will live, what his role will be, and how will the technicalities of the papal transition be handled. The Vatican confirmed Monday Pope Benedict XVI will retreat to Castelgandolfo after his papacy ends on February 28. He will stay there during the conclave, and once the new pope is elected and installed, Joseph Ratzinger will return to Vatican City and take up residence in a former cloistered monastery located in the Vatican Gardens. The Vatican' Protocol office is going through the code of canon law and other legislative texts to determine what title Pope Benedict should be given after his resignation, and what to do with the Fisherman's ring that all popes are given at the start of their pontificates.

Before the end of his papacy, Pope Benedict will take part in two Wednesday general audiences, the Ash Wednesday celebration at St. Peter's Basilica, a meeting with the priests of Rome on February 14, an Ad Limina visit with a group of Italian bishops, and two brief meetings with heads of state from Romania and Guatemala.