Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury and head of the Church of England, said he is "mourning" former Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, following his death at the age of 95 in Vatican City.
Benedict, who was the first pontiff in almost 600 years to resign his position, rather than hold office for life, passed away on Saturday, according to a statement from the Vatican.
"Pope Benedict was one of the greatest theologians of his age – committed to the faith of the Church and stalwart in its defence," Welby said in a statement Saturday.
"In all things, not least in his writing and his preaching, he looked to Jesus Christ, the image of the invisible God. It was abundantly clear that Christ was the root of his thought and the basis of his prayer.
"In 2013 Pope Benedict took the courageous and humble step to resign the papacy, the first Pope to do so since the fifteenth century. In making this choice freely he acknowledged the human frailty that affects us all," he added.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, said he will remember the former pope with "love and gratitude."
“The human family grieves the passing of this erudite, wise, and holy man, who spoke the truth with love," he said Saturday.
"The family of the Church especially mourns his death, while grateful for the gift he was of a good shepherd and Holy Father.
"I personally sense the loss as he was so encouraging, and appointed me Archbishop of New York and nominated me a Cardinal.
"Faith and reason, the legacy of Pope Benedict XVI, whom we remember with reverence, love and gratitude," Dolan added.
Cardinal Dolan will offer prayers for the Pope Emeritus at 10 a.m. local time, at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, the statement said.
The leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, offered his condolences to Pope Francis after the Pope Emeritus' death.
Kirill told Francis he had received news of Benedict’s passing with “sorrow,” according to the message shared on the official website of the Moscow Patriarchate.
“His Holiness's many years of life marked a whole epoch in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, which he led in a difficult historical period, associated with many external and internal challenges,” Kirill said of Benedict.
Kirill added relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church had “developed significantly” during Benedict’s tenure, in an effort to “overcome the sometimes-painful legacy of the past.”