Pope Benedict XVI has peacelly died at the age of 95 Vatican has announced.
Recently Pope Francis said former Pope Benedict XVI has been very ill and he asked pilgrims at the Vatican to pray for him.
Benedict, 95, became the first leader of the Catholic Church to stand down in 600 years in 2013, citing advanced age.
At the end of the Pope’s final audience of the year, he asked people to “pray a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict”.
The Vatican then said the ex-Pope’s health had worsened in recent hours.
Pope Francis was addressing a general audience in the Vatican’s Paul VI hall when he looked up from a piece of paper and spoke about Benedict’s declining health.
He then made the short trip from the hall to the Vatican Gardens to see Benedict at the Mater Ecclesiae monastery, where he has lived since he stepped down.
Earlier this month Francis revealed he frequently visited his predecessor. Speaking of Benedict as a “saint” and a man of high esteem.
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He has worked tirelessly for world peace.