Pope Benedict XVI waves as he arrives for his weekly general audience at the Vatican. (Filippo Monteforte / AFP/Getty Images / ) 
 
 VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI was given a rapturous reception by the public at a general audience Wednesday, and the Vatican said he may offer his successor advice on papal duties after he resigns at the end of the month. 
 
 Benedict, 85, announced Monday that he would step down due to failing health, breaking with a 600-year tradition of popes serving until they die. 
 
 The German pontiff has decided to move to a former monastery on the grounds of the Vatican to pursue of secluded life of prayer after he resigns, but Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said Benedict could yet offer guidance to his successor. 
 
 "They are free men," he told The Times. "If the successor asks, why should he not respond?" 
 
 Concerns have been raised that even in retirement, Benedict will overshadow his successor, who will live in the Vatican's papal apartment a few hundred yards away. 
 
 Speaking to reporters, Lombardi said Benedict had not consulted cardinals before picking his retirement home, but he called it a "very wise" solution. 
 
 “The successor and cardinals will be very happy to have nearby a person who more than anyone understands the spiritual needs of the Church and his successor," he said. "He will be discreet and sustain his successor with spiritual service." 
 
 Benedict has a busy schedule of events planned before his resignation on Feb. 28, when he will be flown by helicopter from the Vatican to the papal summer retreat at Castel Gandolfo south of Rome. There he will likely sit out the March conclave to elect his successor before he returns to the Vatican. 
 
 At his general audience Wednesday, the first time he has met the public since announcing his retirement, a standing-room crowd of 8,000 at the Paul VI Hall in the Vatican cheered him on and waved national flags as he entered. 
 
 Benedict said he had decided to step down "in full freedom for the good of the church, after much prayer and having examined my conscience before God, knowing full well the seriousness of this act, but also realizing that I am no longer able to carry out the Petrine ministry with the strength which it demands." 
 
 Smiling and waving at the crowd, Benedict said his resignation would not hurt the church. "I am strengthened and reassured by the certainty that the church is Christ's, who will never leave her without his guidance and care," he said. 
 
 Benedict thanked a group of Italian schoolchildren for singing one of his favorite hymns in German. 
 
 Thanking the crowd, he said, "Continue to pray for me, for the Church and for the future Pope. The Lord will guide us." 
 
 Benedict has arranged meetings with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti and President Giorgio Napolitano this weekend; on his last day at the Vatican as pope, he will meet with cardinals for a send-off. 
 
 The following day, cardinals will begin to hold informal meetings in Rome ahead of the conclave, which must be held between 15 and 20 days after Benedict departs. One hundred seventeen cardinals under the age of 80 will elect the next pope. 
 
 Lombardi said Vatican experts are still scrambling to work out the protocol covering a resigning pope, the first in 600 years. Asked if there was any progress made on what to call Benedict after he resigns, Lombardi said, "We don't have an answer," adding that Vatican officials and the pope himself were working on a solution. 
 
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 Pope's resignation, 'a generous act,' could transform Vatican 
 
 Speculation on pope's successor turns to Africa, Latin America 
 
 Kington is a special correspondent ||||| Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images 
 
 Pope Benedict XVI stunned the world today by announcing his resignation from the papacy, effective Feb. 28. He will be the first pope to step down since Gregory XII in 1415. His resignation raises several questions that the Explainer will endeavor to answer—even though the near-unprecedented nature of Benedict’s decision means that in several cases, we’ll just have to wait and see. 
 
 L.V. Anderson L.V. Anderson is a Slate associate editor. 
 
 Should I still call him Benedict XVI, or does he go back to being Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger? 
 
 We don’t know yet what name he’ll go by. Pope Gregory XII (born Angelo Correr) continued to be known as Gregory until his death in 1417. 
 
 We also don’t know whether Benedict will become a cardinal again. He won’t automatically revert to being cardinal—he would have to be reappointed cardinal by his successor. There is some precedent for this to happen; Pope Gregory XII was appointed cardinal upon his abdication. 
 
 Benedict will definitely remain a bishop until his death, since becoming a bishop is a sacrament, and even bishops who are removed from office aren’t stripped of that title. 
 
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 Where will he live? 
 
 He’ll move to the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo, the pope’s summer residence. Castel Gandolfo is a resort town on Lake Albano near Rome. Afterward, he’ll move to a monastery of nuns in the Vatican. (At the moment, he’s waiting on renovation work at the monastery to be completed.) It’s unclear whether he’ll remain in the Vatican or move elsewhere (perhaps in his native Bavaria) once he’s concluded “a period of prayer and reflection” at the monastery. 
 
 What kind of retirement benefits does the pope have? Does he get a pension? 
 
 Since no pope has retired in almost 600 years, there is no formal retirement plan for popes. However, as a bishop (and possibly a cardinal), Benedict will continue to have access to the Vatican’s lavish healthcare plan and probably also to the private doctors who currently manage his medical treatment. The pope does not officially receive a salary, though his needs are seen to by the Holy See. Canon law requires each diocese to provide support and housing for its priests after they retire, though the details of priests’ and bishops’ pension plans vary from country to country. 
 
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 Will he have any say in choosing his successor? 
 
 Officially, no. Pope Benedict XVI will not participate in the papal conclave to elect the next pope. (For one thing, as previously mentioned, he may not revert to being a cardinal. For another thing, he’s too old to take part in the papal enclave—only cardinals under the age of 80 may vote.) However, Pope Benedict appointed 67 of the 118 members of the College of Cardinals who are currently eligible to participate in the election of the next pope. This means that Benedict will have had at least an indirect influence over the election. 
 
 Will he still be infallible? 
 
 No—and in fact, he’s never been infallible. In accordance with the First Vatican Council of 1870, the pope is infallible only when he makes an ex cathedra statement—that is, a statement concerning “a doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the whole Church.” Most popes never make ex cathedra statements during their papacy; only one infallible statement (regarding the Assumption of Mary) has been made since the First Vatican Council of 1870. Pope John XXIII was quoted as saying, “I am only infallible if I speak infallibly but I shall never do that, so I am not infallible.” Pope Benedict XVI has never spoken ex cathedra, and he will lose the ability to do so once he resigns from the papacy. 
 
 Will he maintain control of the @pontifex Twitter account, or will his successor inherit it? 
 
 It’s unclear at the moment. However, when the Vatican was choosing a handle for the pope, @benedictusppxvi was considered and rejected in favor of the more general, less personal @pontifex. This would seem to indicate the Twitter handle is attached to the office, not the man. Additionally, though Benedict personally composed his first tweet on an iPad on Dec. 12 (not without technical difficulty), most of the tweets from his account have been composed by aides. Therefore, it’s likely that control of the Twitter account will remain with the Vatican rather than with Benedict. 
 
 Got a question about today’s news? Ask the Explainer. ||||| Vatican: Pope Benedict XVI will lose his infallibility 
 
 By Agence France-Presse 
 
 Wednesday, February 13, 2013 12:15 EDT 
 
 Pope Benedict XVI will lose his infallibility — his supreme authority in Church matters — as soon he steps down on February 28, the Vatican said on Wednesday as it struggles to explain a virtually unprecedented situation. 
 
 “These powers go with the office, so they will pass to the next pope…. Whoever renounces no longer has the assistance of the Holy Spirit to guide the Universal Church,” Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said at a briefing. 
 
 The issue is complex for many Catholics who believe the election of a pope is divinely inspired and are accustomed to popes remaining in office until death. 
 
 Benedict will be the first pope to resign in more than 700 years and only the second to do so voluntarily in the Catholic Church’s 2,000-year history. 
 
 Though papal infallibility was only set in stone in 1870, the idea had long been part of Church history and debate, and the notion of the Bishop of Rome as a preserver of apostolic truth was first mooted in the sixth century. 
 
 The special power has been used only once by a pope — in 1950 when Pius XII established the Assumption of Mary as Church dogma — and is limited to “ex cathedra” statements of doctrine or faith that apply to the whole Church. 
 
 While Benedict will have to drop his claim to being right all the time, the Vatican said that as ex-pope he will enjoy a pension of sorts when he retires as planned to a monastery with flower beds and a vegetable garden inside the Vatican walls. 
 
 “We will ensure he can live a dignified existence,” Lombardi said.
– When Pope Benedict steps down as pope later this month, he loses some serious bragging rights: No longer will he be infallible, reports AFP via Raw Story. “These powers go with the office, so they will pass to the next pope," says a Vatican spokesman. "Whoever renounces no longer has the assistance of the Holy Spirit to guide the Universal Church." For the record, the pope isn't deemed infallible in all things all the time, but only when he lays down the law on church doctrine in what's known as an "ex cathedra" statement, explains Slate. Those statements are exceedingly rare, and Benedict, like most popes, never had the pleasure. But even though he's losing his chance at infallibility, Benedict still is expected to advise his successor on the occasional papal matter, reports the LA Times.