(FILES) In this file photo taken on May 6, 2006 Pope Benedict XVI blesses faithful, in St Peter's basilica, at the end of the mass to mark the celebration of the anniversary of the Swiss guard corp. - Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, a German theologian whose 2013 resignation took the world by surprise, died on December 31, 2022, at age of 95, the Vatican announced. The President of CAN, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, said these in a statement obtained by The PUNCH in Abuja. According to him, Pope Benedict XVI had devoted his soul and intelligence to God for a more fraternal world, and had died in the Mater Ecclesiae monastery, a house dedicated to prayer and self-sacrifice within the walls of the Vatican Gardens. He said, “CAN pays tribute to Pope Benedict XVI who spent his days at the service of the Church, speaking to the hearts and minds of men with the spiritual, cultural and intellectual depth he possessed. “CAN extends its condolences to his relatives, the Vatican, the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria and the faithful in Nigeria and the rest of the world over this great loss.”

Source: Punch January 01, 2023 08:10 UTC