Former Pope Benedict XVI dies at the age of 95

Pope Benedict XVI, who served as head of the Catholic Church from 2005 until his resignation in 2013, has died at age 95, the Vatican announced.

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A statement by Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said: “It is with sadness that I tell you that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI passed

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away these days at 9:34 a.m. in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery inside the Vatican. Similarly, the information could be provided as soon as possible.

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His death comes after Pope Francis announced in his weekly target market on December 28 that Benedict became "very ill.

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The death of Benedict XVI takes on a duration almost unheard of in current records where the popes have co-existed,

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a scenario that has sparked tensions within rival camps in the Vatican. It paves the way for his successor, Pope Francis

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to remember whether or not to watch Benedict retire sooner or later, which is not possible while the end results could have been three popes.

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Benedict, born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger in Germany in 1927, became a deeply conservative pontiff whose tenure was marred by sexual abuse

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