VATICAN CITY
Deutsche Welle
Although most popes remain in office until their death, the regulations that govern the Catholic Church allow for a pope to step down from his duties. He need not ask permission: It is his decision entirely.
There have been very few papal resignations in the history of the Catholic Church. The last to do so was Pope Gregory XII, in 1415 as part of a deal to end the Great Western Schism in which two rivals had separately declared themselves pope. The dispute had threatened to tear the church apart.
Perhaps better known is the resignation of Celestine V in 1294, who had only been in the position for less than six months. The then 89-year-old Celestine had paved the way for himself to step down by issuing a decree that made it possible for a pope to resign.
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