The former Pope Benedict XVI, a German theologian who shocked the world by resigning his pontificate in 2013, died on Saturday at the age of 95, the Vatican announced. His death sparked reactions around the world, from the Secretary General of the United Nations, Anthony Guterreseven the presidents of the United States, France or Russia, who sent messages of condolences.
“It is with regret that I announce that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI He died on December 31, at 9:34 a.m., in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery of the Vatican. As soon as possible, more information will be provided,” said the director of the Holy See’s press service, Matteo Bruni, in a statement.
Benedict XVI dies reactions and latest news
Biden praises Benedict XVI’s “devotion to the Church”
US President Joe Biden, a fervent Catholic, mourned the death of former Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday and praised his “devotion to the Church.”
The late pope “will be remembered as a renowned theologian, with a lifetime of devotion to the Church, guided by its principles and faith,” Biden said in a statement.
The second Catholic president in US history, following John F. Kennedy, Biden met with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican in 2011. “I will always remember his generosity and welcome, as well as our profound conversation,” he wrote.
Francis entrusts the Virgin to Benedict XVI, “faithful servant” of the Church
Pope Francis entrusted this Sunday to the Virgin Mary to the “beloved” pope emeritus Benedict XVI, his predecessor and who died yesterday Saturday at the age of 95, during his homily for the first mass of the year in Saint Peter’s Basilica.
“Today we entrust to the Blessed Mother the beloved pope emeritus Benedict XVI to accompany him on his way from this world to God,” said the Argentine pontiff at this Eucharist, in his second public reaction on the death of Joseph Ratzinger.
Pope Francis was the first to come to watch over Benedict XVI following his death
Pope Francis was the first to visit the body of the emeritus pontiff Benedict XVI in the Vatican’s Mater Ecclesiae monastery, where he had resided in retirement since his resignation in 2013, the Holy See confirmed this Sunday.
After the death, at 9:34 a.m. (8:34 GMT), the personal secretary of the German pontiff, Monsignor Georg Ganswein, telephoned Francis to confirm his death, according to the Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, said today.
Francisco arrived regarding ten minutes later and remained watching over the body of his predecessor Ratzinger until 10:00 local time (9:00 GMT), when he had to leave for other commitments.
Mohamed VI regrets the death of Benedict XVI
King Mohamed VI of Morocco expressed his condolences for the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who died last Saturday at the age of 95.
In a statement from the royal cabinet collected by the official MAP agency, the monarch expressed “his deep condolences and his sincere feelings of compassion” to Pope Francis, the Christian world and the Catholic Church on the death of the emeritus pope.
“Lord, I love you”, the last words of Benedict XVI according to his nurse
“Lord, I love you” were the last words spoken by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI before he died on Saturday morning, according to one of the nurses who attended him that night.
The nurse in question, this has been reported to Ratzinger’s personal secretary, Monsignor Georg Gänswein, according to the official media of the Holy See, Vatican News.
Around three in the morning, six hours before he died, at the age of 95, Benedict XV was seriously ill, but not yet dying, and a nurse assured that he heard him say the phrase “Lord, I love you” in Italian, because he does not speak German, according to the same source.
Jerusalem Catholics mourn the death of Pope Benedict XVI
Church bells rang this Sunday in the Old City of Jerusalem, where faithful Catholics mourned the death of emeritus Pope Benedict XVI.
In front of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, built according to Christian tradition in the place where Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected, Matteo Sassano, a 33-year-old Italian seminarian, said he had prayed for the memory of the late pope, who died on Saturday at 95 years.
“He was a great pope (…) and a great companion of Pope Francis,” he said, referring to Benedict XVI, who announced that he was leaving his post in 2013 due to diminishing forces.
The Vatican prepares to solemnly bid farewell to Benedict XVI
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who died on Saturday at the age of 95, will be bid farewell to the faithful and his successor, Francis, this week, with a three-day funeral chapel and a solemn funeral in St. Peter’s Square.
The rites will begin this Monday when the remains of the German pontiff are exposed in a three-day burning chapel in the Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican starting at 9:00 local time (8:00 GMT) so that the faithful can say goodbye.
Cuba conveys “its condolences” for the death of Benedict XVI
Cuba mourned the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who passed away this Saturday at the age of 95 and recalled the Pope’s apostolic visit to the island in 2012.
“On behalf of the Cuban people, the government and on my own behalf, I convey heartfelt condolences on the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI,” the island’s president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, declared on Twitter.
Benedict XVI’s health had deteriorated in recent days. The Vatican said Friday that he was in “stable” condition and that he had participated in a Mass celebrated in his room at the Vatican monastery on Thursday.
For the first time in the millennial history of the Church, the reigning pope, the Argentine Francis, will preside on January 5 at the funeral of a predecessor, no longer in office. “According to the wish of the pope emeritus, the funeral will be carried out in the greatest simplicity,” the papal spokesman said.
The body of the deceased will be exposed starting Monday in the Basilica of Saint Peter, to be venerated by believers.
Why did Benedict XVI resign?
Benedict XVI he announced his resignation from the pontificate on February 28, 2013 due to the decline of his physical and mental abilities. However, the announcement was given following the scandals of the Catholic Church.
“I have come to the certainty that my strength, given my advanced age, no longer corresponds to those of an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry (…) For this reason, I declare that I resign from the ministry of Bishop of Rome”, he declared when resigning.
With information from EFE and AFP.
