The Pope Thanked his flock for respecting his decision to retire and said he was standing down for the good of the Church.
"I took this step in full awareness of its gravity and novelty but with Profound serenity of spirit," he said in his address.
As a result of his surprise announcement, the Church has now amended its laws to bring forward the election of a successor.
The conclave beginning in mid-March would have left little time to have a new pope installed for one of the most important periods in the Catholic calendar, Holy Week, leading up to Easter, Which begins on 24 March.
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