Pope Francis said he wrote a resignation letter in 2013, his first year in office, to be used in case he became physically or mentally impaired and unable to fulfill the duties of the papacy.

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz of Minsk, Belarus, who had been blocked from entering his homeland for four months until negotiations between the Vatican and the Belarusian authorities allowed him back in time for Christmas.

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis accepted the resignation of a Polish bishop accused of negligence after a documentary claimed he repeatedly transferred a priest accused of sexually abusing children.

VATICAN CITY -- In a move apparently related to Vatican financial scandals, Pope Francis accepted Cardinal Angelo Becciu's resignation as prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes and his renunciation of the rights associated with being a cardinal, the Vatican announced late Sept. 24.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Buffalo Bishop Richard J. Malone told Catholics Dec. 4 he asked Pope Francis to allow him to retire early so the people of the diocese "will be better served" by a new bishop who is "perhaps better able" to bring about "reconciliation, healing and renewal" in addressing the abuse crisis.

MEXICO CITY -- Bolivia's bishops called for calm after the country's president resigned suddenly in the face of swelling street protests over accusations of electoral fraud. They also insisted the departure of President Evo Morales "is not a coup," even though the military had urged him to step aside.

PALERMO, Sicily – Honouring a priest shot at point-blank range by the Mafia, Pope Francis insisted that true happiness and a real change in Sicilian society will come only when people love and care for one another rather than trying to grab as much money and power as they can.

WASHINGTON – Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Michael J. Bransfield of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, and has instructed Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore to conduct an investigation into allegations that Bishop Bransfield sexually harassed adults.

VATICAN – Updating the norms and regulations governing the resignation of bishops and of Roman Curia department heads who are not cardinals, Pope Francis said they will continue to hold office until he accepts their resignations.

VATICAN CITY – The first person to serve as the Vatican's independent auditor said he was forced to resign after opponents of Pope Francis' financial reforms mounted a campaign against him.

OTTAWA – Years of suffering from “severe chronic pain” have forced one of Canada’s most outspoken bishops to relinquish his ministry.

VATICAN CITY – Retired Pope Benedict XVI said in an interview that he felt a "duty" to resign from the papacy because of his declining health and the rigorous demands of papal travel.

HOVE, England - An English Catholic bishop has resigned after admitting that he has been "unfaithful to his promises as a Catholic priest."

BELFAST, Northern Ireland - For years, the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Cardinal Sean Brady, refused to heed repeated calls for him to step down over alleged cover-ups of sexual abuse of children by clergy.

On March 13th, the world's cardinals in Rome elected Pope Francis following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. The catholicregister.org has created a special, easy-to-view section to display the news from Benedict's last days, plus all the breaking stories from the Vatican as the cardinals choose the next pope.