Six Things You Should Know About Pope Benedict XVI

Tributes have been pouring in, following the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI who died at the age of 95.

This publication earlier reported that the Vatican on Saturday announced his death, stating that Pope Benedict had been very sick.

The death of the former Pope is coming almost a decade after he stood down because of ailing health.

In this article, Naija News names six things you should know about the late Pope.

1. Benedict is the 265th pope and the first to resign in over 600 years. He said his resignation was due to a lack of strength in the mind and body.

2. He was elected pope at the age of 78 and he is the fifth oldest person to have been elected pope.

3. After being ordained as a Catholic priest in 1951, the Pope whose real name is Joseph Ratzinger became an academic theologian.

4. As a German soldier, he was interned in a prisoner of war camp, but released a few months later at the end of the war in May 1945.

5. Benedict is an accomplished pianist and his favourite works of music are Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto and Clarinet Quintet.

6. Ratzinger is the author of 66 books. His first book was published in 1966 and his most recent in 2012.