Former pope Benedict XVI has died at the age of 95, the Vatican announced Saturday, almost a decade after he became the first pontiff to resign in six centuries.βWith sorrow, I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican,β Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement.
His death brings to an end an unprecedented situation in which two βmen in whiteβ β Benedict and Francis β had co-existed within the walls of the tiny city state.
While there is no rulebook for former popes, Benedictβs funeral is expected to be at the Vatican, presided over by Francis.
In 2005 the body of John Paul II, the last pope to die, lay in state before a funeral mass in St Peterβs Square attended by one million people, including heads of state.