Pope Benedict XVI, the Bavarian-born theologian who shocked the world by resigning the papacy in 2013 after just eight years, has died at the age of 93. The Vatican announced his death on Saturday, saying he passed away at his home in the Vatican. He was the first pope to voluntarily abdicate the papal reins in nearly 600 years.
Benedict was born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger in 1927 in Marktl, Germany, and was ordained a priest in 1951. He was appointed Archbishop of Munich and Freising in 1977 and was made a cardinal in the same year. In 2005, he was elected pope, taking the name Benedict XVI.
Throughout his papacy, Benedict was a staunch advocate for conservative Roman Catholicism, earning him the nickname “God’s Rottweiler”. He was the first pope to do a TV question-and-answer session, launch an official Vatican website and a papal Twitter account. He also made a powerful symbolic visit to Ground Zero in New York during a trip to the U.S. in 2008.
Benedict was succeeded by Pope Francis, while he assumed the title of pope emeritus and retired to a monastery in Vatican City. He was the longest-living pope, having surpassed Pope Leo XIII in 2020. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres praised Benedict’s “tenacious commitment to nonviolence and peace”. His remains will be on public display in St. Peter’s Basilica starting Monday, with his funeral to be held on Thursday, Jan. 5, in St. Peter’s Square, with Pope Francis presiding over the mass.
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