Pope Benedict XVI waves in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican in December 2012. Benedict, 85, announced on Monday, February 11, that he will resign at the end of February "because of advanced age." The last pope to resign was Gregory XII in 1415.
Rome (CNN) -- The cardinals who must pick a successor to Pope Benedict XVI after he steps down on February 28 could meet to make the decision sooner than thought, a Vatican spokesman said Saturday.
The conclave, the meeting which will bring together the 117 cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church, could start before March 15 if all the cardinals are already in Rome, Father Federico Lombardi said.
Lombardi had previously said the conclave was likely to start between March 15 and 19.
But he gave new details Saturday, saying that because the pope had resigned rather than the conclave being triggered by his death, there was scope for the time frame to be brought forward.
The decision may not come until after Benedict's departure and lies in the hands of the cardinals, he added.
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Benedict is the first pope to step down in nearly 600 years, throwing the Vatican into some confusion.
Experts are working on points of the Apostolic Constitution that need to be clarified or interpreted, Lombardi said, and are expected to give pointers on the new protocol soon.
Lombardi said he had met with the pope Saturday morning and found him "calm and relaxed even in these so emotional days."
Benedict, 85, shocked the world Monday when he announced his intention to stand down at the end of the month, citing the frailty of old age.
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While Benedict won't be directly involved in his successor's selection, his influence will undoubtedly be felt. He appointed 67 of the 117 cardinals that are set to make the decision.
More than two-thirds of the final number of cardinals must agree on the next pope. The announcement that a decision has been made will come in the form of a puff of white smoke emerging from a chimney in the Vatican.
Benedict will hold a final audience in Vatican City's St. Peter's Square on February 27, but the church is not planning a formal ceremony to mark the pope's departure, Lombardi said.
With the resignation of Pope Benedict, take a look at history's longest-reigning popes, or check out history's shortest-reigning popes.
No. 10 (10th longest-reigning pope): Pope Urban VIII reigned for 20 years, 11 months and 24 days from 1623 to 1644.
Photos: Longest-reigning popes
With the resignation of Pope Benedict, take a look at history's shortest-reigning popes. You can also view our list of the longest-reigning popes.
Pope Urban VII reigned for 13 calendar days in 1590, the shortest papal tenure in history.
Shortest-reigning popes
The pontiff, born Joseph Ratzinger, will first go by helicopter to the pope's summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, Lombardi said.
He could remain at Castel Gondolfo until the end of April or early May while the works to ready a new residence for him in a monastery within the Vatican are completed, Lombardi said. Once there, he will devote himself to a life of reflection and prayer.
Lombardi told reporters that the pope's decision shouldn't be seen only as negative, but rather as a lucid and responsible choice that he had taken for the good of the Church.
Benedict wants the new pontiff to have the physical and moral vigor necessary to take on the necessary reforms of the Church, Lombardi said, adding that it will be up to the new pope and the cardinals to establish their priorities.
Benedict's decision to remain in Vatican City has a practical as well as a spiritual motivation, he said.
His presence will enable him to support his successor and the rest of the clergy, Lombardi said, although he dismissed the idea that Benedict would interfere as the new pope takes charge.
The last pope to step down before his death was Gregory XII, who in 1415 quit to end a civil war within the church in which more than one man claimed to be pope.
When do you know it's time to go?
CNN's Livia Borghese reported from Rome and Laura Smith-Spark wrote from London.
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Joseph Ratzinger, who became the 265th pope in 2005, poses for a photo while a German air force assistant in 1943.
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, right, poses for a picture in Vatican City in June 1977 with fellow cardinals, from left, Cardinal Gappi, Cardinal Tomazek, Cardinal Gantin and Cardinal Benelli. Ratzinger was named cardinal-priest of Santa Maria Consolatrice al Tiburtino by Pope Paul VI in June 1977.
Ratzinger, who was serving as cardinal-priest of Santa Maria Consolatrice al Tiburtino, visits Madrid in 1989.
Ratzinger fills in for Pope John Paul II during the Easter Vigil service in Saint Peter's Basilica in March 2005.
Newly elected as pope, Benedict XVI gestures to the crowd in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City on April 19, 2005.
Benedict meets Prince Albert II of Monaco at the pope's private library in Vatican City in December 2005.
Benedict kisses the altar before addressing the crowds at Jasna Gora Monastery in Czestochowa, Poland, in May 2006.
Benedict waves from under an umbrella as he arrives to lead his weekly general audience in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican in October 2007.
Benedict speaks at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in April 2008.
Benedict celebrates a Mass at the end of a synod of Catholic bishops in October 2008 at St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.
Benedict attends a screening of a movie about his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, on October 16, 2008, in Vatican City during celebrations of the 30th anniversary of John Paul's election as pontiff.
Benedict kneels as he prays in front of Pope John XXIII's tomb in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on October 28, 2008, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of John's election to the papacy.
Benedict talks with bishops in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican after his weekly general address in November 2009.
Benedict blesses pilgrims as he arrives in St. Peter's Square in his popemobile in March 2010 to meet with young people from Rome and the Lazio region in preparation for World Youth Day.
The pope salutes from his popemobile in St. Peter's Square in March 2010.
Benedict prepares to celebrate Mass at San Giovanni della Croce parish in Rome in March 2010.
Benedict prays on Good Friday in April 2010 at the Roman Colosseum.
Benedict celebrates an open-air Mass in the Terreiro do Paco in Lisbon, Portugal, in May 2010.
Benedict prepares to celebrate a Mass for 70,000 people in September 2011 in Berlin.
Benedict waves to the crowd gathered at the Colosseum in Rome during the Way of the Cross procession on Good Friday in April 2012.
A gust of wind blows Benedict's collar into his face in September 2012 during his weekly address in Saint Peter's Square.
Benedict speaks with Nikolaus Schneider, praeses of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland, before a Mass at the Augustinian monastery in Erfurt, Germany, in September 2011.
Benedict waves to pilgrims as he arrives at St. Peter's Square for his weekly address in October 2012.
Benedict looks at a chess game with Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara during a private audience in November 2012 at the Vatican.
Benedict arrives to lead the Vesper prayer with members of Rome's universities in December 2012 at St. Peter's Basilica.
Benedict clicks on a tablet to send his first tweet from his account @pontifex at the Vatican in December 2012.
Benedict celebrates Mass during a visit to San Patrizio al Colle Prenestino parish on the outskirts of Rome in December 2012.
Benedict blesses members of the ecumenical Christian community of Taize, a group based in Taize, France, in St. Peter's Square in December 2012.
Benedict, accompanied by Grand Master Matthew Festing of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, right, shakes hands with a woman after the Mass in St. Peter's Basilica to mark the 900th anniversary of the Order of the Knights of Malta on February 9, 2013, at the Vatican.
No. 9: Leo I, both a pope and saint, reigned from 440 to 461, for a total of 21 years, 1 month and 13 days.
No. 8: Pope Sylvester I reigned from 314 to 335 for a total of 21 years, 11 months and 1 day.
No. 7: Pope Alexander III reigned for 21 years, 11 months and 24 days.
No. 6: Pope Pius VII reigned from 1800 to 1823 for a total of 23 years, 5 months and 7 days.
No. 5: Pope Adrian I reigned for 23 years, 10 months and 25 days, from 772 to 795.
No. 4: Pope Pius VI reigned from 1717 until his imprisonment, and subsequent death, in 1799. His reign lasted 24 years, 6 months and 15 days.
No. 3: Pope Leo XIII reigned from 1878 to 1903, totaling 25 years, 5 months and 1 day.
No. 2: Pope John Paul II reigned for 26 years, 5 months and 18 days, from 1978 to 2005.
No. 1: Pope Pius IX reigned the longest of all popes, from 1846 to 1878, for a total of 31 years, 7 months and 23 days.
Boniface VI reigned for 16 days in the year 896.
Pope Celestine IV reigned for 17 days and died before consecration in 1241.
Pope Theodore II reigned for 20 days in 897.
Pope Sisinnius reigned for 21 days in 708.
Pope Marcellus II reigned for 22 days in 1555.
Pope Damasus II reigned for 24 days in 1048.
Pope Pius III reigned for 27 days in 1503.
Pope Leo XI also reigned for 27 days in 1605.
Pope Benedict V was the first to reign for 33 days in 964.
Pope John Paul I also reigned for 33 days before his death in 1978.
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