the former pope, benedict xvi, has died at the age of 95. the vatican says he passed away this morning at his residence there. his health had been worsening in recent weeks. benedict served as head of the roman catholic church for eight years until 2013, when he became the first pope in 600 years to announce his retirement. he was german by birth, and was known for his conservative theological outlook. bells tolling this was the moment his death was confirmed in rome. you can hear the bells ringing in st peter s square in vatican city. the vatican says pope benedict s body will lie in state from monday in st peter s basilica, and that pope francis will lead the funeral on january 5th. here s our religon editor, aleem maqbool. cerebral by character, benedict was a prolific author and more at home with scholarship than pastoral work. he led the world s catholics for eight years and then abruptly resigned, the first pope to do so in 600 years. joseph ratzinger was born in southe
and we pray that he will be lovingly embraced by the heavenly father and given that place in the kingdom of heaven for which we pray for everybody. let s get more now from ruth gledhill. she s assistant editor at the tablet, which is a catholic weeklyjournal. thank you forjoining us. this is a good time to remind people that this is an unprecedented situation, the first time a sitting pope will bury his predecessor. we might expect, mightn t we, that the funeral will be a bit different to what we have seen from the funerals of popes before. figs seen from the funerals of popes before. , . ., before. as we had, the funeral will before. as we had, the funeral will be on the 5th before. as we had, the funeral will be on the 5th of before. as we had, the funeral will be on the 5th ofjanuary before. as we had, the funeral will be on the 5th ofjanuary in - before. as we had, the funeral will be on the 5th ofjanuary in the - be on the 5th of january in the morning and pope francis wi