VATICAN CITY: Former Pope Benedict XVI has died at the age of 95 at his Vatican residence. Pope Benedict XVI is believed to have stepped down nearly a decade ago due to ill health. Benedict XVI led the Catholic Church for less than eight years and became the first pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415 when he abdicated in 2013. Benedict spent his last years in a monastery within the walls of the Vatican.
His successor, Pope Francis, said he often visited him there. “It is with regret that I inform you that Pope Benedict XVI died today at 9:34 a.m. at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican,” the Vatican said in a statement. More information will be provided as soon as possible.” He added that the former Pope had been ill for some time and his condition had steadily deteriorated due to advancing age. During his final address of the year at the Vatican on Wednesday, Pope Francis appealed to the audience to offer a special prayer for Pope Benedict. About whom he said that he is very sick.
Benedict’s full name was Joseph Ratzinger Benedict and he was born in Germany. He was 78 when he became the oldest pope ever elected in 2005. For much of his papacy, the Catholic Church faced decades of child abuse allegations, lawsuits and official reports by priests. Earlier this year, the former pope admitted that mistakes had been made in handling abuse cases while he was archbishop of Munich between 1977 and 1982.
