Pope Benedict XVI to Step Down Feb. 28 for Health-Related Issues

Pope Benedict, 85, announced on Monday he is stepping down from his pontiff platform attributing the cause to his mental and physical strength. 

In 2009, while vacationing in the Alps, The Pope fell and injured one of his wrists.  The Associated Press reports that The Pope's doctor said there no current ailments that would endanger his health, but has arthritis and his prostate problems have been credited to his age and weakness. 

To ease his state of feebleness, The Pope has been using his cane and traveling to the St. Peter's Basilica altar for service and leadership to 1.2 billion Catholics.  The Vatican's press officer, Federico Lombardi, announced he will be moving to the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo on February 28, followed by his return to a cloistered monastery in Rome.

The Pope was appointed pontiff in 2005, replacing John Paul who died when he was 84 years old. He was a stark comparison to Pope John Paul II, a strong-willed and beloved leader to billions of Catholics and most-traveled.  ABC reports he visited 129 countries during his 27 years as the pontiff.

Pope Benedict will be the first pontiff to resign since Celestine V in 1294. But his post is not left without suprises. The pontiff joined Twitter in December, swarming many beleivers to tweet questions.  

A series of scandals followed Benedict; the latest was when his personal butler leaked documents in 2012 portraying the Vatican's shady business transactions.

His visits to a German university prompted protests and attacks on Middle East churches after he remarked that Islam acquainted evil to the world through violence. But then a 2006 religious trip to a mosque in Istanbul, Turkey was seen as a move to refurbish the relationship with Muslims.