Retired Pope Benedict XVI is to move into his new retirement home in the Vatican gardens on Thursday.

The 86-year-old emeritus pontiff has been living at the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo, in the hills south of Rome, since he resigned on February 28.

A Vatican spokesman said that Benedict will live on the ground floor of the monastery inside the gardens that has been renovated for his use. A small staff will join him.

Pope Benedict looked frail on March 23 - the last time he was seen by the public - when Pope Francis travelled to Castel Gandolfo to greet his predecessor. The Vatican has insisted Benedict is not suffering from any specific medical condition but is just old and tired.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.