Former Pope Benedict XVI died at the age of 95, over a decade after stepping down due to ill health. He led the Catholic Church for less than eight years before becoming the first Pope to retire since Gregory XII in 1415 in 2013.

Benedict spent his final years at the Mater Ecclesiae convent within the Vatican walls, where he died on Saturday at 09:34 (08:34 GMT). On January 5, his successor, Pope Francis, will officiate at the funeral. The body of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI will be put in St Peter’s Basilica on January 2 for “the greeting of the faithful,” according to the Vatican.

After the former Pope’s death was announced, bells rang out from Munich Cathedral, and a solitary bell rang out from St Peter’s Square in Rome.

The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, claimed Pope Benedict was “one of the great thinkers of the 20th century”.

He stated in a statement: “I recall with fondness the extraordinary Papal Visit to these regions in 2010. We witnessed his kindness, tenderness, perceptiveness of mind, and openness to everyone he encountered.”

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declared the former pope “a great theologian whose UK visit in 2010 was a historic event for both Catholics and non-Catholics throughout our country”.

People began arriving in St Peter’s Square in Rome after learning of the previous Pope’s death. Although the previous pontiff has been ailing for some time, Vatican officials stated his condition had worsened due to his advanced age.

Pope Francis asked his final audience of the year at the Vatican on Wednesday to “pray a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict,” who he said was very unwell. Benedict, born Joseph Ratzinger in Germany, was 78 when he became one of the oldest popes ever elected in 2005.

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