Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has died at his Vatican residence. He was 95.
The Holy See announced the news in a short statement Saturday morning.
“With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican,” wrote Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office. “Further information will be provided as soon as possible.”
The Vatican added that Benedict’s remains will lie in St Peter’s Basilica, Rome from January 2 to allow “the greeting of the faithful.”
His funeral will then be held on Thursday at 9:30 a.m. local time in St. Peter’s Square, presided over by his successor Pope Francis, The New York Times reported Saturday, citing a Vatican spokesman, who added that the service would be a “solemn but sober funeral.”
Pope Francis first revealed that his predecessor was unwell at the Vatican on Wednesday, Dec. 28, when he said that Benedict was “very sick,” and asked his audience for “a special prayer” in his honor.
The Vatican later confirmed that Benedict’s health had “worsened due to age,” NBC News reported.
Benedict served as head of the Catholic Church in Vatican City for nearly eight years, beginning in 2005 following the April death of Pope John Paul II.
The former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who was born in Germany, was 78 years old when he accepted the position, making him one of the oldest individuals to be named Pope.
In 2013, Benedict made headlines when he unexpectedly stepped down from his role, becoming the first pontiff to do so in nearly 600 years.
Benedict cited his “advanced age” in the announcement, noting that “both strength of mind and body are necessary” to lead the Church.
“I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering,” he said at the time, per the BBC.
Benedict held his final mass as Pope in February 2013 at age 85. Speaking in front of more than 55,000 people at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, he thanked supporters for understanding his decision.
“To love the church also means having the courage to take difficult decisions,” he said at the time.
However, child sexual abuse scandals loomed large over Benedict’s papacy. In 2009, two separate reports described the level of abuse within the Irish Church, according to the BBC. Benedict defrocked nearly 400 priests a few years later.
This January, a church-commissioned report determined that Benedict failed to discipline priests in at least four cases of sexual abuse during his tenure as the archbishop of Munich, Germany.
At least 497 victims, mainly young males, were found to have been abused between from 1977 to 1982 — with more believed to have not been reported.
Benedict was accused of mismanaging the abuse cases and, in at least some instances, not properly punishing the clerics involved. The ex-Pope denied any wrongdoing in the report, according to NBC News.
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