Former Pope Benedict XVI, First To Resign From Papacy in 600 Years, Dies at 95

The Vatican said that he would be placed in St Peter's Basilica, from 2 January, "to be greeted by the faithful.”

The 95-year-old former Pope led the Catholic Church for close to eight years until he resigned in 2013.

(Photo: Twitter/VaticanNews)

Former Pope Benedict XVI died at his residence in Vatican City on Saturday, 31 December, almost a decade after he resigned citing ill-health.

Who was he? : The 95-year-old former Pope led the Catholic Church for close to eight years until he resigned in 2013, becoming the first Pope to do so since Gregory XII in 1415.

What did the Vatican say?: In a statement, Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said

"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."

What happens now?: After a pope loses their life, their study and bedroom are closed off, the pope's Fisherman's ring, which is the deal used for papal documents, is destroyed and several rites for the funeral are set into motion.

However, with Benedict's death, given his resignation and title of 'pope emeritus,' it is unclear what the Vatican's full protocol would be.

The Vatican also said that he would be placed in St Peter's Basilica, in Vatican city, from 2 January, "to be greeted by the faithful.”

Benedict's time as pope: For much of his papacy, the Catholic Church was under fire in the form of allegations, legal claims and inquiries into decades of child abuse by priests.

He was also criticised for crushing dissent and for doing little to address sexual abuse within the church.

The infamous resignation: Pope Benedict suddenly resigned at the age of 85, in February 2013, and become the first pope to do so since the 1400s.

While church and the world were in shock, Benedict said that at the moment he did not have the strength to continue leading the world's 1.2 billon Catholics.

“I have had to recognise my incapacity to adequately fulfil the ministry entrusted to me,” he said.

Remembering Benedict XVI: The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Vincent Nichols referred to Pope Benedict as "one of the great theologians of the 20th century".

"He was through and through a gentleman, through and through a scholar, through and through a pastor, through and through a man of God - close to the Lord and always his humble servant," he added.