(Observer Network News) According to a report by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on December 31, former Roman Catholic Pope Benedict XVI passed away at his Vatican residence at the age of 95, nearly ten years after he abdicated due to poor health.
The Vatican said in a statement: "I am saddened to inform you that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI passed away at 9:34 this morning at the Mater Ecclesiae monastery in the Vatican." "(The Vatican) will provide more information as soon as possible."
BBC report screenshot
Previously, according to a British Reuters report on December 28, Roman Catholic Pope Francis revealed on the 28th local time that the retired former Pope Benedict XVI (Benedict XVI) was "very ill" and called on believers to pray for him. The Holy See later confirmed that Benedict XVI's health had deteriorated and he was receiving medical care.
reported that after the day's weekly speech, Francis unexpectedly announced the news that Benedict XVI was seriously ill in Italian : "I would like to ask all of you to say a special prayer for Pope Benedict XVI, who silently supports the church. Let us remember him, he is very ill."
The 95-year-old Benedict XVI's real name Joseph Ratzinger (Joseph) Ratzinger was born in 1927 in Marktel, a town in Bavaria, Germany, into a Catholic family. On April 19, 2005, Benedict XVI was elected as the 265th Pope and officially took office on April 24 of the same year.
The Pope is the head of state in the Vatican. After being elected, he serves for life and cannot be removed. But on February 28, 2013, Benedict XVI officially announced his resignation as the Pope of Rome, becoming the first pope to resign since the abdication of Gregory XII in 1415. After that, Benedict XVI lived in the Vatican with several assistants and medical staff.
Reuters pointed out that as the current pope, Francis often praises Benedict XVI in public, but the simultaneous appearance of two Roman popes in the Vatican often causes controversy. Some conservative religious figures will regard Benedict XVI as a "standard bearer", and some "ultra traditionalists" even refuse to recognize Francis' legitimacy.
Reuters stated that several people who had met Benedict XVI revealed that until a few weeks ago, Benedict XVI was "physically weak, but his mind was still clear." The US " Washington Post " quoted an "anonymous close friend of Benedict XVI" as saying that Benedict XVI's physical condition became increasingly weak before Christmas, and "time is obviously not on his side."
