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Ar Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has died at 95
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has died at 95
Rome, Dec 31, 2022 - Prensa Latina/BBC - Pope emeritus Benedict XVI died on Saturday in the Vatican's Mater Ecclesiae monastery, said the director of the Holy See's press office, Matteo Bruni.
The death of Benedict, 95, occurred at 09:34 hours, local time, in the place that had been his residence since 2013, when he resigned for health reasons, after eight years of pontificate.
After his resignation in February 2013, Joseph Ratzinger moved to the Mater Ecclesiae residence, where he lived for nine years accompanied by his secretary, Monsignor Georg Ganswein, a doctor, a nurse and four consecrated lay women, from the Memores Domini association, who took care of him.
On December 28, Bruni confirmed in statements to reporters that Benedict XVI’s health had worsened due to his advanced age, after Pope Francis made reference to the delicate health of his predecessor in his general audience.
The Supreme Pontiff requested that day a “special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict, who in silence is supporting the Church,” after which he went to the Mater Ecclesiae monastery, in the Vatican Gardens, to visit the sick prelate.
We must remember him, he is very bad, “asking the Lord to console him, and sustain him in this testimony of love for the Church, until the end,” Francis added, although Bruni later clarified that “for now, the situation remains under control, constantly monitored by doctors.”
In fact, on Friday, the Vatican’s press director reported that Benedict’s health was under control and noted that “last night the Pope Emeritus was able to rest well. Yesterday afternoon he also participated in the celebration of a holy mass in his room.”
He led the Catholic Church for fewer than eight years until, in 2013, he became the first Pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415.
Benedict spent his final years at the Mater Ecclesiae monastery within the walls of the Vatican where he passed away at 09:34 (08:34 GMT) on Saturday.
His successor Pope Francis will lead the funeral on 5 January.
The Vatican said the body of the Pope Emeritus will be placed in St Peter's Basilica from 2 January for "the greeting of the faithful".
Bells rang out from Munich cathedral and a single bell was heard ringing from St Peter's Square in Rome after the death was announced.
In his first public comments since news of Pope Benedict's death broke, Pope Francis called him a gift to the church, describing him as a noble and kind man.
At a New Year's Eve service at the Vatican he paid tribute to his "dearest" predecessor, emphasising "his sacrifices offered for the good of the church".
The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, said Pope Benedict was "one of the great theologians of the 20th century".
In a statement he said: "I remember with particular affection the remarkable Papal Visit to these lands in 2010. We saw his courtesy, his gentleness, the perceptiveness of his mind and the openness of his welcome to everybody that he met."