Former pope Benedict XVI dies aged 95 as Vatican announces his body to lie in state at St Peter's Basilica

Former pope Benedict XVI, who became the first pontiff in six centuries to resign almost a decade ago, has died at the age of 95.

Key points:

  • Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was the first pontiff in 600 years to resign
  • The Vatican says his body will lie in state in St Peter's Basilica, with his funeral to be held on January 5
  • Pope Francis described Benedict as a noble, kind man who was a gift to the church and the world

Benedict, the Pope Emeritus, died on Saturday at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican, a spokesman for the Holy See confirmed.

"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. Further information will be provided as soon as possible," the spokesman said in a written statement.

Benedict had headed the Roman Catholic Church from April 2005 to February 2013.

Bells tolled in Rome as news of his death, which followed a rapid decline in his health over Christmas, spread to the faithful on an unusually warm winter's day.

Many went to pray in St Peter's Square on hearing the news.

"Now we will only have one pope. I must say that Pope Ratzinger was a charismatic pope, humble but above all a great theologian," said French tourist Emilie Gaillard, using Benedict's family name.

The Vatican has said his body will lie in state in St Peter's Basilica from Monday. His funeral will be held in St Peter's Square on January 5, presided over by Pope Francis.

The Vatican has painstakingly elaborate rituals for what happens after a reigning pope dies but no publicly known ones for a former pope.

Pope Francis, in his first public comments since the death of his predecessor, called Benedict a noble, kind man who was a gift to the church and the world.

He spoke in the homily of a previously planned New Year's Eve vespers of thanksgiving in St Peter's Basilica.

"It is with emotion that we remember his person, so noble, so kind. And we feel in our heart such gratitude, gratitude to God for having gifted him to the church and the world," Pope Francis said.

Earlier this week, he had disclosed during his weekly general audience that the pope emeritus was "very sick", and asked for people to pray for him.

Pope Francis (left) described his predecessor as a noble and kind man who was a "gift" to the world.(Reuters: Osservatore Romano/Handout)
 

Benedict was born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger on April 16, 1927, in the southern German village of Marktl, close to Austria.

He was the first pontiff in 600 years to resign. For nearly 25 years, as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Benedict was also the powerful head of the Vatican's doctrinal office, then known as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF).

Conservatives in the Church have looked to the former pope as their standard bearer and some ultra-traditionalists even refused to acknowledge Francis as a legitimate pontiff.

 

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Story first published on ABC News

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