CBS News/ February 27, 2013, 12:17 PM

Papal transition: How much do you know?

Pope Benedict XVI waves from the altar as he arrives at St. Peter's Square for his last weekly audience Feb. 27, 2013, at the Vatican.

Pope Benedict XVI waves from the altar as he arrives at St. Peter's Square for his last weekly audience Feb. 27, 2013, at the Vatican.

/ AFP/Getty Images

Pope Benedict XVI shocked the world with his surprise announcement earlier in February that he was stepping down as the head of the Catholic Church.

The move prompted an avalanche of questions that even the most learned Vatican scholars didn't have all the answers to, in no small part because a pope hasn't retired in 600 years.

In the following pages, test your knowledge of all things pope-related.

The Associated Press contributed some portions of the text to this post.

3 Comments Add a Comment
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ZarathustraMike says:
Check out the new pope.... same as the old pope!
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absolutejoan says:
The Pope looks very, very ill to me...could he be retiring because of health issues and if so why wouldn't he just say what the illness is? He can barely hold the paper to read his speeches.
I hope we don't get a big scandal right after he resigns...that's what I'm afraid of.
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erzkarlaspern replies:
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Yes, he is ill. His biographer said the former pope is now blind in his left eye, has become thin and weak. He is almost 86 as well (birthday is April 16), so it is no surprise. Besides, handling the problems of a Church of one billion two hundred million people in so many different countries with different problems is not easy. We have No Need to know if he has other problems, since he himself has said he feels he has neither the mental nor physical ability at present to adequately serve.