Guwahati: Former Pope Benedict breathed his last at the age of 95 at his Vatican residence 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. Further information will be provided as soon as possible,” Vatican News tweeted.
Pope Benedict passed away two days after Pontiff Francis asked to pray for the “very sick” former Pope, CNN said in a report.
“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,” Pope Francis said during his general audience at the Vatican on Wednesday.
“We ask the Lord to console and sustain him in this witness of love for the Church to the very end,” added Pope Francis.
Pope Benedict XVI stunned the world in 2013 by announcing his resignation from the papacy, citing “advanced age” as the reason.
According to CNN, Benedict’s declaration marked the first resignation of a pope in in 600 years.
Gregory XII, the last pope to step down before dying, did so in 1415 to put an end to a papal succession dispute within the Catholic Church.