Former Pope Benedict XVI
Photo by SVEN HOPPE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
- Former Pope Benedict XVI died on Saturday at the age of 95.
- He was elected Pope on April 19, 2005 and succeeded Pope John Paul II.
- Benedict was the first German Pope in 1,000 years.
Former Pope Benedict XVI, 95, died Saturday at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican, a Holy See spokesman said.
“It is with sadness that I inform you that Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 a.m. at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican. More information will be provided as soon as possible,” the spokesman said in a written statement.
His death came days after Pope Francis called for prayers for his predecessor, saying he was “very ill.”
For nearly 25 years, as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Benedict was the powerful head of the Vatican’s doctrinal office, then known as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF).
He was elected Pope on April 19, 2005 to succeed the highly popular Pope John Paul II, who reigned for 27 years. The cardinals chose him among themselves seeking continuity and what one called “a safe pair of hands.”
Benedict XVI, the first German pope in 1,000 years, acknowledged that he was a weak administrator, saying he displayed a “lack of determination in government and decision-making” during his eight-year pontificate, which was marked by mistakes and scandal. of leaks.
Child abuse scandals plagued most of his papacy, but he is credited with spurring the process to discipline or expel predatory priests after a more relaxed attitude under his predecessor.
After his resignation, conservatives in the Church regarded the former pope as their standard-bearer, and some ultra-traditionalists even refused to recognize Francis as a legitimate pontiff.
They have criticized Francis for his more welcoming approach to members of the LGBTQ+ community and to Catholics who have divorced and remarried outside the Church, saying both were undermining traditional values.
*Additional report by Al Jazeera
