Rabat – Former Pope Benedict XVI has passed away at age 95 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican, the Vatican announced today. The former Catholic pontiff had stayed at the monastery for cloistered nuns since February 2013, when he became the first pope in over six centuries to step down from his position.
The former pope had been struggling with poor health, prompting current Pope Francis on December 28 to ask Catholics to pray for his predecessor, indicating he was “very sick.” Pope Francis had asked for a special prayer for Benedict, who he said “sustains the church in his silence.”
Earlier today, the Vatican’s Press Director Matteo Bruni released a statement announcing the passing of the former pontiff. “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,” he stated.
Pope Benedict had stayed at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican since his departure as pope, after he had promised to stay “hidden” following his unorthodox decision to relinquish his position as the pope.
Pope Benedict was born Joseph Ratzinger, in Germany on April 16 of 1927. After having served the previous Pope John Paul II, he was elected as pope in 2005, serving eight years as the Catholic pontiff until his resignation on February 28, 2013.
In his last official appearance as pope on February 27, Benedict stated: “I would like my greeting and my thanksgiving to extend to everyone: the heart of the Pope reaches out to the whole world.“
In that final address, he attributed his decision to step down to poor health. “In these last months I have felt my energies declining, and I have asked God insistently in prayer to grant me his light and to help me make the right decision, not for my own good, but for the good of the Church. I have taken this step with full awareness of its gravity and even its novelty, but with profound interior serenity.”
The passing of the pope emeritus was marked in Vatican city by the ringing of the Vatican bells after his death was officially announced.
