• Benedict XVI, the 265th Pope of Roman Catholic Church, has died at 95.
• US President Joe Biden and Lula have praised him..
• Pope Benedict XVI was a “formative person” in the Catholic Church.

Funeral and memorial ceremonies were presided over by Pope Francis in memory of Pope Benedict XVI, who passed away at the age of 95.

The Pope praised Benedict for being “noble,” “gentle,” and “given” to the Roman Catholic Church.

Among the many politicians who have praised the previous pontiff are US President Joe Biden and Brazilian President Lula.

The first pope to resign in 600 years, Benedict did so in 2013 due to ill health. On January 5, there will be a funeral service in the Vatican.

Benedict, the 265th Pope and head of the Catholic Church, was a divisive figure. Some mourners praised him as a staunch defender of the faith, while others criticized his administration for failing to address claims of clergy sexual abuse.

While praising his “dearest” predecessor, Pope Francis emphasized “his sacrifices rendered for the sake of the Church” in the hours following the news of his passing.

President Joe Biden, the second Catholic to hold the presidency in the US after John F. Kennedy, issued a statement through the White House.

Benedict will “be remembered as a great theologian, with a lifetime of dedication to the Church, motivated by his ideals and faith,” the president added, recalling their time together at the Vatican in 2011.

Around the world, leaders of nations with sizable Catholic populations have also shown their admiration for Benedict, with the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni praising him as a “giant of faith and reason” and “a wonderful man whose history will not forget.”

Former pope Benedict XVI was referred to as a “humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord” by Ireland’s Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

The greatest Catholic country in the world, Brazil, will soon have a new president named Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who expressed his wishes for “comfort to the faithful and supporters of the Holy Father.”

A great theologian, Benedict left a “immense legacy” for the Catholic Church, for all Christians, and for humanity, according to his predecessor, President Jair Bolsonaro, who also praised his “masterful work.”

In the UK, the new monarch King Charles III said that he received news of the former Pope’s death with “deep sadness”.

Sending a message of condolence to Pope Francis, he highlighted Benedict’s “constant efforts to promote peace and goodwill to all people” and his actions to strengthen bonds between Catholics and Anglicans.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called Benedict XVI “a great theologian whose UK visit in 2010 was an historic moment for both Catholics and non-Catholics throughout our country”.

The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, said Benedict transformed his image in the UK when he visited.

Speaking to the Media, Cardinal Nichols said he arrived with a reputation of being “God’s Rottweiler”, but left being compared to “everybody’s favorite great-uncle or just uncle”.

UN chief Antonio Guterres praised the former pontiff for his “tenacious commitment to non-violence and peace”.

Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz described the late pope as “a formative figure of the Catholic Church, a forthright personality and a clever theologian”.

Benedict was born in Bavaria as Joseph Ratzinger and in 1977 was appointed archbishop of Munich.

Reaction to his death in the city was varied – with one resident describing him as “conservative”, while taking pride from the fact that he was German.

Another was more critical.

“I thought when he came to power he would finally bring some fresh air into the Catholic Church and bring an end to celibacy. But unfortunately, he disappointed me,” Christa Herwig told news agency.

Benedict denounced the sexual liberalism of the 1960s and the disregard for God’s teaching for clergy sexual abuse in 2019.

During a large portion of his pontificate, the Catholic Church was the subject of accusations, legal actions, and official reports investigating decades of priestly child abuse.

The former pope said earlier this year that mistakes had been made in the treatment of abuse allegations while he served as the archbishop of Munich from 1977 to 1982.

The revelation followed allegations that he ignored four cases of child sex abuse that were the subject of a German court investigation into the Catholic Church.

The former pope requested pardon for any “grievous sin” in a letter made public by the Vatican, but he denied any misconduct on his own.

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Pope Benedict XVI Dead at 95

Pope Benedict XVI has passed away at the age of 95 He...