A little over ten years after stepping down due to declining health, the former Pope Benedict XVI dies at 95.
After less than eight years in office, Francis resigned as Pope in 2013, becoming the first pope to do so since Gregory XII in 1415.
Benedict passed away on Saturday at 09:34 (08:34 GMT) after spending his final years in the Mater Ecclesiae monastery inside the Vatican.
His successor, Pope Francis, will officiate the burial on January 5. The body of Pope Emeritus will be deposited in St. Peter’s Basilica beginning on January 2 for “the welcoming of the faithful,” according to the Vatican.
Following the death announcement, bells could be heard ringing from St. Peter’s Square in Rome to the Munich cathedral.
Pope Francis referred to Pope Benedict as a gift to the church and described him as a great and loving man in his first remarks made in public following the announcement of his passing. He honored his “dearest” predecessor at a New Year’s Eve service at the Vatican, praising “his sacrifices rendered for the sake of the church.”
Pope Benedict was referred to as “one of the great theologians of the 20th century” by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.
He stated in a statement: “I have fond memories of the wonderful Papal Visit to these countries in 2010. We observed his politeness, compassion, perceptiveness, and willingness to welcome everyone he encountered.”
The former pope’s 2010 visit to the UK, according to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, was “a great theologian whose UK visit was a historic event for both Catholics and non-Catholics throughout our country.”
King Charles III expressed his “great regret” at learning of Pope Benedict’s passing and remembered his 2009 visit to the Vatican with “fondness.”
I also think back on his ongoing initiatives to further world peace and goodwill as well as to improve ties between the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.
Pope Benedict “worked with spirit and intelligence for a more brotherly world,” according to French President Emmanuel Macron, who also expressed his condolences to Catholics in France and around the world.
Pope Benedict is “one of the greatest theologians of his age, dedicated to the truth of the Church and stalwart in its defense,” according to Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.
In his New Year’s address to the nation, Russian President Vladimir Putin commended Pope Benedict as a “defender of genuine Christian principles.”
