Buhari, Other World Leaders Mourn as Pope Benedict Dies at 95

Deji Elumoye and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari and other world leaders yesterday eulogised the 95-year-old Catholic Pontiff, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who died in his residence at the Vatican’s Mater Ecclesiae Monastery.

 Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni said in a statement that he died at 9:34 am in his residence, which he had chosen after resigning in 2013.
 “With sorrow, I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 am in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican. Further information will be provided as soon as possible. As of Monday morning, 2 January 2023, the body of Pope Emeritus will be in Saint Peter’s Basilica so the faithful can bid farewell,” said the statement announcing his death.

Reacting to the news of his demise, President Buhari commiserated with Pope Francis, the Catholic Church in Nigeria and around the world, as well as all Christian faithful who mourn the passing of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

The president in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, paid tribute to Benedict XVI who was greatly admired globally for his selfless leadership, renowned learning as a theologian, and dedication to advancing inter-faith dialogue and peace.

According to the statement, “President Buhari believes that the late Pontiff will be remembered as a true servant of God who used the benevolent gifts of the Almighty upon his life to serve the Church and humanity in humility, reverence and piety, living in word and deed the virtues of a true Christian disciple.”
Also reacting, German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, paid tribute to the former pope, referring to him as a “special church leader” who helped shape the Catholic church.

“As a ‘German’ pope, Benedict XVI was a special church leader for many, not only this country,” Scholz wrote on Twitter.
“The world has lost a formative figure of the Catholic Church, an argumentative personality and a clever theologian.”
On his part, France’s President Emmanuel Macron praised him for his work towards a “more brotherly world”.
“My thoughts are with the Catholics of France and the world, bereaved by the departure of his holiness Benedict XVI, who strove with soul and intelligence for a more brotherly world,” he wrote on Twitter.

Also reacting, UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said that he was “saddened” by the death of the former pope, calling him a “great theologian”.
“I am saddened to learn of the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI,” Sunak tweeted. “He was a great theologian whose UK visit in 2010 was a historic moment for both Catholics and non-Catholics throughout our country.”

Similarly, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hailed the former pope as a ‘giant of faith and reason’.
She said she had told current Pope Francis that she and her government shared his pain at the passing of “a Christian, a pastor, a theologian, a great figure in history – that history will never forget”.

Before his death, his health conditions had worsened due to his advancing age.
Benedict had almost entirely withdrawn from public view and the few photographs that emerged of him exposed his frailty.
Back in 2013, he had cited his declining physical and mental health in his decision to become the first pope since 1415 to give up the job as head of the worldwide Catholic Church.
Despite saying he would live “hidden from the world” after his resignation, he repeatedly intervened on key issues facing the Church through books, interviews and articles.

In January 2020, he expressed his opposition to allowing priests to marry. A year earlier, he blamed clerical abuse scandals on the 1960s sexual revolution and a collapse in faith in the West.
In an interview in March 2021, he said “there is only one pope”, but acknowledged “fanatical” supporters who refused to accept his resignation.
His death brings to an end an unprecedented situation in which two “men in white” — Benedict and Francis — had co-existed within the walls of the tiny city-state.

While there is no rulebook for former popes, Benedict’s funeral is expected to be at the Vatican, presided over by Francis.
In 2005 the body of John Paul II, the last pope to die, lay in state before a funeral mass in St Peter’s Square attended by one million people, including heads of state
Benedict was a brilliant theologian.
Born on April 16, 1927, in Marktl am Inn, in Bavaria, Benedict was 78 when he succeeded the long-reigning and popular John Paul II in April 2005, the first German pope of the modern era.