Pope Benedict XVI Dies At 95 

Former Pope Benedict XVI died at the age of 95 at his Vatican residence, nearly a decade after stepping down due to ill health.

iexclusivenews reports that He led the Catholic Church for less than eight years before becoming the first Pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415 in 2013.

Benedict spent his final years in the Vatican at the Mater Ecclesiae monastery.

Pope Francis, his successor, stated that he frequently visited him there.

“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,” the Vatican said in a statement.

“Further information will be provided as soon as possible.”

The body of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI will be placed in St Peter’s Basilica on January 2 for “the greeting of the faithful,” according to the Vatican.

According to a spokesperson, Pope Francis will preside over the funeral on January 5th in St Peter’s Square in Rome.

After the former Pope’s death was announced, bells rang out from Munich Cathedral, and a single bell rang out from St Peter’s Square in Rome.

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.”

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the former pope “a great theologian whose UK visit in 2010 was a historic moment for both Catholics and non-Catholics throughout our country”.

Pope Benedict “worked with soul and intelligence for a more fraternal world,” said French President Emmanuel Macron, and his thoughts went out to Catholics in France and around the world.

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Pope Benedict “was a giant of faith and reason”.

“He put his life at the service of the universal Church and spoke, and will continue to speak, to the hearts and minds of men with the spiritual, cultural and intellectual depth of his Magisterium.”

The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said for many, not only in Germany, Pope Benedict was “a formative figure of the Catholic Church, a controversial personality and a clever theologian”.

Irish President Michael D Higgins said the former pope will be remembered for “his untiring efforts to find a common path in promoting peace and goodwill throughout the world”.

Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said Pope Benedict was “one of the greatest theologians of his age – committed to the faith of the Church and stalwart in its defence”.

Following news of the former pope’s death people began gathering in St Peter’s Square in Rome.

Annamaria, 65, and Patrizia, 64, visiting from the northern Italian city of Bologna, said they went there immediately as soon as they heard about the death.

“We came here to pray. He was a great pontiff, certainly very different from Francis, he was a great intellectual and scholar. Like the rest of the Church we will always remember him,” Annamaria told the BBC.

Barbara Bernadas, a tourist from the Spanish city of Barcelona, said she and her boyfriend felt a sense of bewilderment when they heard the news.

“We learned of his death just as we were in St Peter’s Square. A tourist guide was just telling us where Benedict lived, it feels surreal. What will happen now?This situation is unprecedented; there are no protocols to follow for what will happen now. Certainly it is an unprecedented historical moment,” she said.

Although the former pontiff had been ill for some time, Vatican officials said his condition had worsened due to his advanced age.

Pope Francis asked his final audience of the year at the Vatican on Wednesday to “pray a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict,” who he said was very ill.

However, iexclusivenews Nigeria reports that Benedict, born Joseph Ratzinger in Germany, was 78 when he became one of the oldest popes ever elected in 2005.

For much of his pontificate, the Catholic Church was confronted with allegations, legal claims, and official reports regarding decades of child abuse by priests.

Earlier this year, the former Pope admitted that mistakes were made in the handling of abuse cases while he was archbishop of Munich from 1977 to 1982.