Pope Benedict, with only hours left in his papacy, on Thursday, February 28 pledged unconditional obedience to whoever succeeds him to guide the Roman Catholic Church at one of the most crisis-ridden periods in its 2,000-year history, Reuters said.

Benedict, who was due to leave the Vatican later on Thursday for temporary residence at the papal summer villa south of Rome, bade an emotional farewell to cardinals before he was to become the first pope in six centuries to step down.

"I will continue to be close to you in prayer, especially in the next few days, so that you are fully accepting of the action of the Holy Spirit in the election of the new pope," he told cardinals in the Vatican's frescoed Sala Clementina.

The pledge, made ahead of the closed doors conclave where cardinals will elect his successor, was significant because for the first time in history, there will be reigning pope and a former pope living side-by-side in the Vatican.