Vatican: Former Pope Benedict XVI has died at the age of 95 at his Vatican residence, nearly ten years after stepping down due to failing health.

After less than eight years in office, he resigned as pope in 2013, becoming the first pope to do so since Gregory XII in 1415. In the Mater Ecclesia monastery inside the Vatican walls, Benedict spent his last years.

Pope Francis, who succeeded him, claimed to have visited him there frequently. The Vatican said in a statement: "With sadness, I must inform you that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI passed away at 9:34 this morning at the Mater Ecclesia monastery in the Vatican.

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"Further information will be made available as soon as possible,"
According to the Vatican, the body of the Pope Emeritus will be placed in St. Peter's Basilica for the "consecration of the faithful" from January 2.

The Vatican said arrangements for Pope Benedict's funeral would be made public in the coming hours. The Holy See claimed that although the former pontiff had been ill for some time, his condition had worsened as he aged.

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Pope Francis requested that his last audience of the year on Wednesday at the Vatican "make a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict," as he claimed his condition was critical.

Benedict was one of the oldest popes elected when he took office in 2005 at the age of 78. He was born as Joseph Ratzinger in Germany.

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

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The former pope admitted earlier this year that mistakes were made in the handling of abuse cases when he served as archbishop of Munich from 1977 to 1982.