Former Pope Benedict XVI has died

By © H. Elvir Tabakovic, Can. Reg. / Propstei St. Michael, Paring, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=101992091

Former Pope Benedict XVI has died. He was 95.

Benedict was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013.

He was elected to the post in 2005 following the death of Pope John Paul II.

Pope Benedict XVI, whose full name was Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger was born in Marktl, Germany in 1927.

On 11 February 2013, the Vatican confirmed that Benedict would resign from the papacy on 28 February 2013. The reason was due to his advanced age.

He became the first pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415. In modern times, all popes have held office until death.

On 28 December 2022, Pope Francis said at the end of his audience that Benedict was "very sick" and asked God to "comfort him and support him in this testimony of love for the church until the end".