See four stories of popes who have resigned in the last 1,000 years

On February 28, Benedict will be the first pope to leave office in almost 600 years. See below the stories of the resignation of four popes over the last thousand years.

Pope Benedict IX, 1045

At the age of 33 and nearly 10 in office, the Rome-born pope resigned shortly after marrying and accepting money from his godfather to replace him.

Pope Gregory VI, 1046

The same man who replaced his godson eventually left office a year later. This happened when Benedict IX could not keep his wife and decided to claim his throne, returning to the Vatican.

Pope Celestine V, 1294

With only five months in office, the Sicilian decreed that all popes have the right to resign and then did so. Celestino became a hermit, but two months later he was rescued by his successor, who locked him in an Italian castle. After 10 months, the former pope passed away.

Pope Gregory XII, 1415

The elderly Venetian was in office for about 10 years and resigned as an attempt to end the Great Schism of the West, a conflict in which he divided the Catholic Church between 1378 and 1417.