Former Pope Benedict died at the age of 95 on the morning of December 31.  People from all over the world came to pay their respects to him before his funeral which was held on Thursday, January 5 in St. Peters Square in Vatican City.

He was born on April 16, 1927, in Marktl, Germany. He spent most of his younger years living in Traunstein, which was a small town. During the Second World War Benedict started to become closer to the church community. He became a priest in 1951, then led on to become archbishop, and then Pope in the year 2005, which was his biggest success! 

According to CNN, Pope Francis remarked on the life of former Pope Benedict: “Gratitude to him for all the good he accomplished and above all for his witness of faith and prayer, especially in these last years of his life. Only God knows the value of his sacrifices for the good of the church.” 

Benedict was loved by many and was known for creating many movements and changing rights within the church community. People from all over the world would come to his masses.  For decades Pope Benedict served within the catholic church. He is known for being elected as the 25th plaintiff in the year 2005. He served for a total of 7 years and was the first Pope in 600 years to resign his position, citing his life and old age. After his resignation from his position as plaintiff, he continued to speak in church, but not as much as he had used to.

Mr. Fleissner, an English teacher at Wayne Hills said “I’ve been a Catholic my whole life, but had some disagreements with Pope Benedict. It’s sad to see someone pass, but I agree with Pope Francis more.

Skylar Perrius, a Freshman at Wayne Hills said “I am very devastated to hear that Pope Benedict had died. I just found out 10 minutes ago!”

Even though a huge part of the Catholic Church had been lost on December 31st, Benedict will never be forgotten and will be forever cherished within the church community.