The Vatican confirmed that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Benedict_XVI" id="mwAXs" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="Pope Benedict XVI">Pope Benedict XVI</a> would <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resignation_of_Pope_Benedict_XVI" id="mwAXw" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="Resignation of Pope Benedict XVI">resign the papacy</a> as a result of his advanced age.<sup about="#mwt260" class="mw-ref reference" data-mw='{"name":"ref","attrs":{},"body":{"id":"mw-reference-text-cite_note-50"}}' id="cite_ref-50" rel="dc:references" typeof="mw:Extension/ref"><a href="./February_11#cite_note-50" id="mwAX0" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 50;"><span class="mw-reflink-text" id="mwAX4">[50]</span></a></sup>
<span class="mw-reference-text" id="mw-reference-text-cite_note-50"><cite about="#mwt257" class="citation web cs1" id="mwCfA"><a class="external text" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-21411304" id="mwCfE" rel="mw:ExtLink nofollow">"Frail Pope Benedict to step down"</a>. <i id="mwCfI">BBC News</i>. 11 February 2013<span class="reference-accessdate" id="mwCfM">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap" id="mwCfQ">13 February</span> 2020</span>.</cite><span about="#mwt257" class="Z3988" id="mwCfU" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&amp;rft.genre=unknown&amp;rft.jtitle=BBC+News&amp;rft.atitle=Frail+Pope+Benedict+to+step+down&amp;rft.date=2013-02-11&amp;rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fworld-21411304&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFebruary+11"></span></span>