Benedict XVI, the pope who shocked the world by stepping down from the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church in 2013, has died at the age of 95. The Vatican announced his death on Saturday.
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.
He entered the priesthood after the war and rose to become a cardinal. In the powerful position as head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he earned the nickname"God's Rottweiler" as a rigid enforcer of church policy. It was a characterisation his biographer John Allen said Ratzinger worked hard to change.
As pope, Benedict's weekly audiences at the Vatican drew huge crowds, but his efforts at inter-religious dialogue sometimes fell short.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Pope Benedict XVI, former head of the Roman Catholic Church, dies at 95Joseph Ratzinger, better known as Pope Benedict XVI, one of the Catholic church’s most eminent modern theologians who upheld orthodox church teaching against numerous challenges in the late 20th century and shocked the world by his resignation as supreme pontiff, has died at the age of 95.
Read more »
Pope Benedict XVI, former head of the Roman Catholic Church, dies at 95Joseph Ratzinger, better known as Pope Benedict XVI, one of the Catholic church’s most eminent modern theologians who upheld orthodox church teaching against numerous challenges in the late 20th century and shocked the world by his resignation as supreme pontiff, has died at the age of 95.
Read more »
Benedict XVI, the First Pope to Resign in 600 Years, Dies at 95BREAKING: The former Pope Benedict XVI, born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, whose resignation as the head of the Catholic Church rocked the world, has died. He was 95.
Read more »