Where is Pope going after resignation?

Pope Benedict XVI is preparing to step down on Feb. 28, and then he'll stay in a monastery within the walls of the Vatican. Local media had said he's going to receive a pension of 2,500 euros a month. It would be enough for him, as he will not have to pay rent to live in the monastery and he will have all the expenses paid by Vatican.

After his resignation,Benedict's life would be guaranteed by the Roman Catholic church.Cooking and cleaning will be done by a group of four women from a Catholic organization called Memores Domini. But Italy's La Stampa daily noted that while the Pope's pension would be 50 percent less than that awarded to a retired cardinal, it was possible his successor might bestow Benedict the title of emeritus cardinal, in which case it would double to 5,000 euros.

The monastery where he's going to live, built in 1992, includes a chapel, a library to delve into his studies, a kitchen, bedrooms and 12 monastic cells sparsely furnished. He declared to devote himself to prayer, reflection and theological writing.

Benedict will bring with him some personal effects, his cats and his piano. Everything else from his eight-year papacy, including furniture, official correspondence and confidential papers, will either remain in the Apostolic Palace or be transferred to the Vatican Library and the Vatican Secret Archives.

The last prayer celebrated by him will be on February 24, and then he will hold the faithful in St Peter's Square on February 27.

Afterwards, some 120 cardinals from across the globe will gather in the 13th-century Sistine Chapel in Vatican City to vote for a new head of the Roman Catholic church.

A two-thirds majority is required from the papal conclave, unless the voting continues for more than 30 ballots, after that it will revert to a simple majority. There is a stove where the ballots are burned after every voting: the black smoke will indicate that the vote is inconclusive, the white smoke will indicate that a new Pope has been chosen.

Normally only cardinals under the age of 80 are allowed to participate in the conclave. Now everybody knows that the next Pope could be from Africa. Two-thirds of the world's Catholics live in Africa, Latin America, and Asia.

Many observers believe that the Church is in global transition, and there could be many good reasons for sticking with the traditional Italian or European pontiff. Two cardinals from West Africa, Ghanaian Peter Turkson and Nigerian Francis Arinze, are the favorites.

Pope Benedict XVI said his decision to step down had not been an easy one but he had taken it freely. He urged the faithful to pray for him. But what exactly have caused the physical collapse of the Pope? There is a rumor about the episode in Mexico during a trip last year.

According to local media, the Pope fell in a bedroom in the Mexican city of Leon and banged his head causing bleeding that stained his hair and sheets.

He at that time knew he no longer had the physical strength to endure these long trips, the change of time zone, the burden of public commitments.

Vatican had confirmed Pope hit his head during the Mexico-Cuba trip, but denies it played part in resignation. "It was not relevant for the trip, in that it didn't affect it or the decision to resign," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said.

Vatican also said the Pope has no specific illness and it is due to a progressive decline in his strength which was normal in a man at his age of 85.