VATICAN CITY — Former Pope Benedict XVI has said that he resigned after “God told me to” during what he called a “mystical experience,” a Catholic news agency reported.

Benedict, whose formal title is now pope emeritus, announced his surprising resignation on Feb. 11, and on Feb. 28 became the first pontiff to step down in 600 years.

“God told me to do it,” the Zenith agency quoted 86-year-old Benedict as saying to a visitor to the convent in the Vatican gardens, where he is currently living out his retirement in near isolation.