Pope Benedict XVI has passed away at age 95.
He held the apostolic see from 2005 to 2013, when he unexpectedly announced his decision to abdicate.
In recent years, he lived in a small monastery, Mater Ecclesiae, in the Vatican Gardens.
Nini ilikua Motive ya Huyu Papa kujiuzulu 2013 ?
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Kiongozi huyo wa zamani wa Kanisa Katoliki amefikwa na mauti akiwa katika makazi yake Vatican baada ya kuwa mgonjwa mwa muda mrefu.
Aliliongoza Kanisa Katoliki kwa miaka 8, ambapo Mwaka 2013 alikuwa Papa wa kwanza kujiuzulu tangu Gregory XII alipofanya hivyo Mwaka 1415.
Jina lake kamili ni Joseph Ratzinger, mzaliwa wa Ujerumani ambaye alipata nafasi ya kuwa Papa wakati akiwa na umri wa miaka 78 Mwaka 2005.
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Former Pope Benedict XVI dies at 95
Former Pope Benedict XVI has died at his Vatican residence, aged 95, almost a decade after he stood down because of ailing health.
He led the Catholic Church for less than eight years until, in 2013, he became the first Pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415.
Benedict spent his final years at the Mater Ecclesiae monastery within the walls of the Vatican.
His successor Pope Francis said he had visited him there frequently.
The Vatican said in a statement: "With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican.
"Further information will be provided as soon as possible."
Although the former pontiff had been ill for some time, the Holy See said there had been an aggravation in his condition because of advancing age.
On Wednesday, Pope Francis appealed to his final audience of the year at the Vatican to "pray a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict", whom he said was very ill.
Born Joseph Ratzinger in Germany, Benedict was 78 when in 2005 he became one of the oldest popes ever elected.
For much of his papacy, the Catholic Church faced allegations, legal claims and official reports into decades of child abuse by priests.
Earlier this year the former Pope acknowledged that errors had been made in the handling of abuse cases while he was archbishop of Munich between 1977 and 1982.