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ROME — Pope Benedict XVI, the first pontiff to step down since the 15th century, died on Saturday in Vatican City at age 95. For several days, he had experienced declining health due to his advanced age, the Vatican press office said, with Pope Francis publicly sharing news of Benedict’s worsening condition earlier this week.
Pope Francis will preside over Benedict’s funeral on Thursday at St. Peter’s Square, the Vatican said.
Born April 16, 1927, in Germany’s Bavaria, Joseph Ratzinger was a theologian by training. Following the death of Pope John Paul II in 2005, Ratzinger was elected his successor after serving for a quarter of a century as the Vatican’s top enforcer of orthodoxy. He was the first German pope since the 11th century.
As Vatican doctrinal watchdog, Ratzinger became a dominating figure: He disciplined dissident theologians, and he upheld church opposition to female priests and married priests as well as same-sex marriage. In a 1986 document, he called homosexuality an “objective disorder and an intrinsic moral evil.”
“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.” pic.twitter.com/O5dxoPaVkT
— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) December 31, 2022
Pope Benedict XVI has died at 95.
Requiescat in pace. pic.twitter.com/cpTIuMLTwf
— Wojciech Pawelczyk (@Woj_Pawelczyk) December 31, 2022
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