He is the first pontiff to do so in nearly 600 years and the decision sets the stage for a conclave to elect a new Pope before the end of March.
The 85-year-old Pope announced his decision in Latin during a meeting of Vatican cardinals.
"After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry," the Pope told the meeting.
"In order to govern the bark of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognise my incapacity to adequately fulfil the ministry entrusted to me," he said.
"For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a Conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is," he said.
In his own words: The Pope's resignation
A group of cardinals will soon go into lockdown in the Sistine Chapel to elect a new pope.
Pope Benedict had hinted in a book of interviews in 2010 that he might resign if he felt he was no longer able to carry out his duties.
The last Pope to resign was Pope Gregory XII, who stepped down in 1415 in a deal to end the Great Western Schism among competing papal claimants.
Prior to Pope Gregory XII, the only other pope to have resigned citing he felt unable to fulfil office was Celestine V in 1296 who stepped down just months into his appointment to office saying he was not physically capable to continue and he yearned a simpler life.
Benedict called his choice "a decision of great importance for the life of the church".
The move sets the stage for the Vatican to hold a conclave to elect a new pope by mid-March, since the traditional mourning time that would follow the death of a pope doesn't have to be observed.
There are several papal contenders in the wings, but no obvious front-runner, as was the case when Benedict was elected pontiff in 2005 after the death of Pope John Paul II.
The Pope's brother, Georg Ratzinger, says the pontiff had been advised by his doctor not to take any more transatlantic trips and had been considering stepping down for months.
Many religious observers noted Pope Benedict was in the Vatican at his predecessor Pope John Paul II's side as the latter slipped over many months toward death.
It was seeing the John Paul decline from almost having a global rock star attraction to being unable to continue in office but remaining in office as was tradition.
Many believe this had preyed on his mind that no one again would want to see a church in effect without a functioning pope.
Benedict came to the role at a relatively late age although then not in poor health, many recognised this had changed over recent times.
Talking from his home in Regensburg to the news agency dpa, Georg Ratzinger said his brother was having increasing difficulty walking and that his resignation was part of a "natural process".
"His age is weighing on him," the 89-year-old said of his 85-year-old brother. "At this age my brother wants more rest."
Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi in a hastily arranged press conference said all were taken by surprise by the announcement but clearly Pope Benedict XVI also felt he no longer had the "rigour, clarity and energy" to go on.
"The Pope caught us a bit by surprise," he said of the sudden announcement.
Last night it was revealed his doctor had told him he was no longer fit for transatlantic travel. It was at this point he began to think about stepping down.
Tributes were coming in from around the world last night for him, many expressing respect for what was a very difficult decision.
Contenders to be his successor include Cardinal Angelo Scola, archbishop of Milan, Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, the archbishop of Vienna, and Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the Canadian head of the Vatican's office for bishops.
Longshots include Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York. Although Cardinal Dolan is popular and backs the Pope's conservative line, the general thinking is that the Catholic Church doesn't need a pope from a "superpower".
Given half of the world's Catholics live in the global south, there will once again be arguments for a pope to come from the developing world.
Cardinal Antonio Tagle, the archbishop of Manila, has impressed many Vatican watchers, but at 56 and having only been named a cardinal last year, he is considered too young.
Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson of Ghana is one of the highest-ranking African cardinals at the Vatican, currently heading the Vatican's office for justice and peace.
All cardinals under age 80 are allowed to vote in the conclave, the secret meeting held in the Sistine Chapel where cardinals cast ballots to elect a new pope. As per tradition, the ballots are burned after each voting round; black smoke that snakes out of the chimney means no pope has been chosen, while white smoke means a pope has been elected.
The pontiff had been due to attend World Youth Day in July in Rio de Janeiro; by then his successor will have been named and will presumably make the trip.
Benedict himself raised the possibility of resigning if he were simply too old or sick to continue on, when he was interviewed in 2010 for the book Light of the World.
"If a pope clearly realises that he is no longer physically, psychologically and spiritually capable of handling the duties of his office, then he has a right, and under some circumstances, also an obligation to resign," Benedict said.
-- with AP and AFP
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