Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who served as the head of the Catholic Church for eight years before his resignation shocked the world, has died.
The 95-year-old former pontiff was 95 and his health had been decline for some time.
The Director of the Press Office of the Holy See Matteo Bruni announced the news Saturday in a statement.
“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.”
Benedict, who was elected as the 265th pope in 2005, stunned the Catholic faithful and religious experts around the globe in 2013 when he announced he would step down as pope, citing his “advanced age.”
He was the first pontiff in almost 600 years to resign his position, rather than hold office for life.
Bookended by globally popular and charismatic popes -- St. John Paul II and Pope Francis – Benedict cut a different figure. Friends and biographers described him as quiet and scholarly, more at home among theological tomes than adoring crowds.
The German-born Benedict saw himself, and the church, as a bulwark against secular trends in Western society, particularly what he called the “dictatorship of relativism.” He often insisted that Catholics maintain a fortress mentality, saying perhaps a smaller, “purer” church would best maintain Catholicism’s traditions and teachings.
As Pope, Benedict was a polarizing figure. He was hailed by conservatives who admired his erudite writings and careful theology. But critics, particularly in the postmodern West, called him “God’s Rottweiler” for his staunch insistence on fidelity to church’s doctrine and his willingness to silence dissent.
Benedict also came under fire for his handling of the sexual abuse crisis that engulfed the Catholic church during his years as a senior cleric. A damning report published in January 2022 found that he knew about priests who abused children but failed to act when he was archbishop of Munich from 1977 to 1982.