Former Pope Benedict XVI passed away at the age of 95 at his apartment in the Vatican. His resignation as pope was due to his declining health almost ten years ago.
He served as the leader of the Catholic Church for a little over seven years before resigning in 2013, making him the first Pope to do so since Gregory XII in 1415.
His final years were spent at the Mater Ecclesiae monastery, which is located within the borders of the Vatican City State.
His successor Pope Francis stated that he had visited him there on multiple occasions.
“With sorrow, I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, died away today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican,” the Vatican said in a statement.
“Additional details will be made available as quickly as they become available.”
The Vatican has announced that beginning on January 2, the body of Pope Emeritus John Paul II will be brought to St. Peter’s Basilica for “the greeting of the faithful.”
The Vatican has stated that the arrangements for Pope Benedict’s burial would be made public within the next few hours.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who presides over the Catholic Church in England and Wales, referred to Pope Benedict as “one of the great thinkers of the 20th century” in one of his recent statements.
In a statement, he added, “I recall with great affection the amazing Papal Visit to these lands in 2010.” (I remember the Papal Visit to these lands in 2010). We witnessed his politeness, his gentleness, the perceptiveness of his thinking, and the warmth of his welcome extended to each and every person he came in contact with.
“He was a gentleman through and through, a scholar through and through, a pastor through and through, and a man of God through and through. He was close to the Lord, and he was always his humble servant.”
Even though the former pontiff had been ailing for some time, the Vatican authorities declared that his condition had worsened because of his advanced age. This was despite the fact that he had been sick for some time.
Wednesday, during his final audience of the year at the Vatican, Pope Francis made a plea to his audience to “pray a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict,” whom he said was in extremely poor health.
Joseph Ratzinger was born in Germany, and Benedict became one of the oldest popes ever elected in the year 2005, when he was 78 years old.
During a significant portion of his pontificate, the Catholic Church was the subject of allegations, legal claims, and official reports about decades of child abuse committed by priests.
In the beginning of this year, the former Pope admitted that mistakes had been made in the way that abuse cases were handled during the time that he served as the Archbishop of Munich between 1977 and 1982.
