The news comes just days after Pope Francis said the German-born pontiff was 'very sick.'
from the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church in 2013, has died at the age of 95. The Vatican announced his death on Saturday.Benedict was"very sick"Nothing defined Benedict XVI's pontificate so clearly as its ending, and his majestic farewell flight over the Eternal City. He had become the first pope in more than 700 years to voluntarily resign.
A naturally shy man, Pope Benedict XVI always said he had no ambitions to lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. But he was chosen in 2005 to succeed Pope John Paul II. At 78, he took on the role as the oldest pope in nearly 30 years.Born Joseph Ratzinger in a small town in Germany in 1927. He was required to join the Hitler Youth at age 14, and was conscripted into an anti-aircraft unit in the German army in 1943. He deserted, and was taken prisoner by the Americans.
"He was seen as harsh, as authoritarian, as controlling... and it was important to him, right out of the gate, to revise that... public image, and I think by and large he did so quite successfully," said Allen. As pope, Benedict's weekly audiences at the Vatican drew huge crowds, but his efforts at inter-religious dialogue sometimes fell short.