Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the shy German theologian who will forever be remembered as the first pontiff in 600 years to resign, died Saturday.
but will forever be remembered as the first pontiff in 600 years to resign from the job, died Saturday. He was 95.
A portrait of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is seen near the altar at the Cathedral of Regensburg, southern Germany on December 29, 2022, during a church service. - Former pope Benedict XVI remains in a serious but stable condition, Italian media reportFrancis spoke of his feelings over the passing, adding to tributes that poured in for his predecessor throughout the day.
The Vatican said Benedict’s remains would be on public display in St. Peter’s Basilica starting Monday for the faithful to pay their final respects. Benedict’s style couldn’t have been more different from that of John Paul or Francis. No globe-trotting media darling or populist, Benedict was a teacher, theologian and academic to the core: quiet and pensive with a fierce mind. He spoke in paragraphs, not soundbites. He had a weakness for orange Fanta as well as his beloved library; when he was elected pope, he had his entire study moved — as is — from his apartment just outside the Vatican walls into the Apostolic Palace.
In time, this group of arch-conservatives, whose complaints were amplified by sympathetic U.S.-based conservative Catholic media, would become a key source of opposition to Francis who responded to what he said were threats of division by reimposing the restrictions on the old Latin Mass that Benedict had loosened.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, flanked by Prefect of the Pontifical House and his former personal secretary Georg Ganswein arrives at the Canonisation Mass on April 27, 2014 in Vatican City, Vatican. "On the contrary, it increases the problem," Benedict said. A year later, he issued a revision saying that if a male prostitute were to use a condom to avoid passing HIV to his partner, he might be taking a first step toward a more responsible sexuality.
Pope Benedict XVI carries the Paschal candle as he leads the Ceremony of the Light during the Holy Saturday Easter vigil mass at St. Peter's Basilica on April 7, 2012 in Vatican City, Vatican. Once the "Vatileaks" scandal was resolved, including with a papal pardon of Gabriele, Benedict felt free to take the extraordinary decision that he had hinted at previously: He announced that he would resign rather than die in office as all his predecessors had done for almost six centuries.