Pope Francis

[image:2] Funeral arrangements are being finalized for retired Pope Benedict XVI, who died Dec. 31 in Vatican City at age 95.

Benedict's successor has long hinted that he might also retire but prospect of three popes – one serving and two emeritus – had been challenging.

During his visit to Canada in July, he used a wheelchair, a walker and a cane to get around after straining his right knee ligaments earlier in the year. He spent 10 days in hospital after the operation. With Benedict’s death, the path to retirement becomes a little easier. The Vatican is a deeply factional place. It would not be “a catastrophe”, he said. It is a move he has long suggested he wants to make.

Pope Benedict XVI has died at the age of 95 after his successor Pope Francis confirmed he was "very sick" and asked for prayers.

He went on to pay tribute to Benedict as a "faithful servant" of the church and "one of the great theologians of the 20th century", whose writing was "very accessible and inspirational". "As the successor to St Peter he was a rock of faith," he added. "May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace." And Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby called Benedict as "one of the greatest theologians of his age". Earlier today, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales hailed the former pontiff as "one of the great theologians of the 20th century" after his death aged 95. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI had never planned to be pope and had intended at age 78 to spend his final years writing in the "peace and quiet" of his native Bavaria. "At this time of the return of war on our continent and in so many areas of the world, he will be remembered for his untiring efforts to find a common path in promoting peace and goodwill throughout the world, including a steadfast interest in peace in Northern Ireland," he said. "Of particular importance was that during his tenure, Pope Benedict sought to highlight both the common purpose of the world's major religions and his injunctions as to how our individual responsibilities as citizens require the highest standards of ethics in our actions." He also said the Benedict would be "remembered for his untiring efforts to find a common path in promoting peace and goodwill throughout the world", including in Northern Ireland. Following the announcement of his death this morning, Mr Higgins said the former pontiff would be remembered for the "value he attached to intellectual work and for the personal commitment he gave to such within the Roman Catholic Church". Pope Benedict XVI has died at the age of 95 after his successor Pope Francis confirmed he was "very sick" and asked for prayers. [Pope Benedict XVI has died aged 95](https://news.sky.com/story/pope-benedict-live-former-pontiff-dies-at-95-after-pope-francis-revealed-he-was-very-sick-12775583?postid=5147695#liveblog-body) [Benedict's body to lie in state in St Peter's Basilica](https://news.sky.com/story/pope-benedict-live-former-pontiff-dies-at-95-after-pope-francis-revealed-he-was-very-sick-12775583?postid=5147793#liveblog-body) [PM pays tribute to former pope and hails his 'historic' visit to UK in 2010](https://news.sky.com/story/pope-benedict-live-former-pontiff-dies-at-95-after-pope-francis-revealed-he-was-very-sick-12775583?postid=5147808#liveblog-body) [Resignation of 'God's Rottweiler' shocked the world - and he continued to be controversial](https://news.sky.com/story/pope-benedict-live-former-pontiff-dies-at-95-after-pope-francis-revealed-he-was-very-sick-12775583?postid=5148106#liveblog-body) [Vatican announces date of Pope Benedict's funeral](https://news.sky.com/story/pope-benedict-live-former-pontiff-dies-at-95-after-pope-francis-revealed-he-was-very-sick-12775583?postid=5147901#liveblog-body)

Former pope Benedict XVI has died at the age of 95, the Vatican announced Saturday, almost a decade after he became the first pontiff to resign in six ...

In January 2020, he expressed his opposition to allowing priests to marry. He denied wrongdoing and the Vatican strongly defended his record in being the first pope to apologise for the scandals, who expressed his own "deep remorse" and met with victims. Benedict's funeral will be held in St. Benedict was a brilliant theologian but his papacy was beset by Vatican in-fighting and a scandal over clerical sexual abuse of children that rocked the Catholic Church the world over, in which he was criticised for a lack of leadership. Back in 2013, he had cited his declining physical and mental health in his decision to become the first pope since 1415 to give up the job as head of the worldwide His death brings to an end an unprecedented situation in which two "men in white" –Benedict and Francis – had co-existed within the walls of the tiny city state.

Benedict, who has died at his Vatican residence, became the first pope to resign for 600 years in 2013.

Like the rest of the Church we will always remember him," Annamaria told the BBC. This situation is unprecedented; there are no protocols to follow for what will happen now. In a statement he said: "I remember with particular affection the remarkable Papal Visit to these lands in 2010. What will happen now? "We came here to pray. 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".

Pope emeritus Benedict XVI will be laid to rest on Jan. 5, 2023, at a Mass in St. Peter's Square at which Pope Francis will preside.

As a theologian, he followed in the footsteps of the great St. For a Christian, the good death is an experience of the mercy of God, who comes close to us even in that last moment of our life.’ “He was through and through a gentleman, through and through a scholar, through and through a pastor, through and through a man of God,” Cardinal Nichols wrote, “close to the Lord and always his humble servant. We give thanks for his years of faithful, thoughtful and inspiring service to the Church.” Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, noted that Benedict, the last pope to attend the Second Vatican Council, “served as a bridge to the future, reminding us all that the reform and renewal of the Church is ongoing. Archbishop Eamon Martin, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, said he was “saddened to hear of the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Archbishop Martin said he was struck by Benedict’s “characteristic humility and gentleness” when he first met him in 2009 while visiting the Vatican as the executive secretary to the Irish bishops. Joseph help us to live the mystery of death in the best possible way. Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales, said in a statement: “I am deeply saddened to learn of the death of Pope Benedict. On behalf of the Irish Bishops’ Conference, and the faithful across Ireland, I extend sympathy to Pope Francis, to the family members and carers of the Pope Emeritus, and to all those in his native Germany and around the globe who loved him and will mourn his loss.” Bruni announced Benedict’s death in a statement sent to journalists accredited to the Holy See that said: “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.” His resignation in 2013 made it possible for future popes to resign if they should find their mental or physical health is failing or the burden of office is too much for them.

For the first time in modern history, a sitting pope will preside over his predecessor's funeral next week, with Pope Francis leading a "simple" ceremony ...

He was confirmed a saint in 2014. The body of the beloved Polish pope was moved to the upper part of the basilica when he was beatified in 2011. When Benedict left office, the face of his ring was etched with a "X" to make it unusable. In 2020, media reports said Benedict had chosen to be buried in the former tomb of John Paul II, in the crypt of St Peter's. In 2005 the body of John Paul II, the last pope to die, also lay in state before a funeral mass in St Peter's Square presided over by Ratzinger, then a senior cardinal. That was performed at the end of a mass at his home, in the presence of the Memores Domini, four lay women similar to nuns, who lived with him.