Former Pope Benedict XVI is dead

The 95-year-old Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI passed away in Vatican City after a period of poor health.

In a statement from the Vatican, Benedict, who was the first pope in almost 600 years to resign from office rather than keep it for life, passed away on Saturday.

"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," the Director of the Press Office of the Holy See, Matteo Bruni said.

"Further information will be provided as soon as possible."

Days after Pope Francis urged the people to pray for Benedict, stating that he was "extremely unwell," there was word of his death.

"I want to ask you all for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict who sustains the Church in his silence. He is very sick. We ask the Lord to console and sustain him in this witness of love for the Church to the very end," Francis said at his general audience on Wednesday.

His health had been deteriorating for a while.

On February 11, 2013, Benedict shocked the Catholic faithful and academics of religion all around the world by announcing his intention to resign as Pope, citing his "old age."

The retiring pope pledged to be "hidden" from the world in his goodbye speech, but he continued to speak up on religious issues in the years after his resignation, fueling divisions within the Catholic Church.

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