Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI has died, aged 95, almost a decade after his resignation as head of the Catholic Church.
The German Cardinal — whose birth name is Joseph Ratzinger — was elected as pope at the age of 78.
He replaced Pope John Paul II, who died, aged 84, at the Vatican's Apostolic Palace in 2005 while leading the Catholic Church.
Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI is one of the very, very few Catholic popes in history to step down as leader instead of remaining in the role for life.
Here's a quick look at why he left the job, and what happened afterwards.
Who was Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI?
Born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger in 1927, Pope Benedict XVI was the son of a police officer and grew up in regional Germany.
After a reluctant enrolment in the German defence force, he resumed his religious education as soon as World War II ended, studying philosophy and theology at the University of Munich.
He was appointed Archbishop of Munich and Freising by Pope Paul VI in 1977 and was ordained as a Bishop that same year, before his election as Dean of the College of Cardinals was approved in 1998.
As Dean, he presided over the College's deliberations during the Vacancy of the Holy See after Pope John Paul II's death in 2005, and less than two weeks later, he was elected the 265th Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, selecting the name Benedict XVI.
In February 2022, the then-94-year-old asked for forgiveness for any "grievous faults" in his handling of clergy sex abuse cases in his time in leadership, but denied any personal or specific wrongdoing after an independent report criticised his actions in four cases while he was Archbishop of Munich.
Why did he retire?
Pope Benedict XVI stunned not just the Catholic community but the world when he announced his decision to step down in February 2013, saying he no longer had the "strength of mind and body" to carry on in a fast-changing world.
After seeing his predecessor's significant mental and physical decline, he made the call that he himself would not die slowly in office while leaving others to govern.
He was accused of "secularising" the papacy by stepping down "as if someone in public office", but he firmly rejected those claims.
In an interview with author Peter Seewald — for the book Last Testament: In His Own Words — Pope Benedict XVI said that "even a father's role stops".
"A father does not stop being a father, but he is relieved of concrete responsibility," he said. "He remains a father in a deep, inward sense, in a particular relationship which has responsibility, but not with day-to-day tasks as such."
After leaving the leadership, his title changed to Pope Emeritus.
Have other Catholic popes retired?
The only other pope who resigned by choice was Celestine V, who stepped down in 1294 after just a few months in office.
Back then, the Benedictine hermit was elected in July of that year, at the age of 84, and consecrated in August after formally declaring that popes would be allowed to resign.
Celestine V reportedly never wanted to be pope in the first place and, upon resigning, was said to have noted "the desire for humility" and the "longing for the tranquility of his former life".
His successor, Boniface VIII, had the former pope imprisoned in the Castle of Fumone, where he died less than a year later.
After that, Gregory XII resigned as pope in 1415 to end the divide caused by the Western Schism.
Feuds between Italian cardinals in the 1300s had led to the papal's formal residence being moved from Rome to Avignon in southern France but, when leaders attempted to shift it back, confusion and excommunication led to rival popes ruling different areas.
The three-decades-long saga saw multiple popes elected over the top of each other before a general council was successfully established and the whole mess was sorted out.
Gregory XII stepped down voluntarily and other opposing popes were dismissed, which eventually led to Martin V taking over as the sole pope in 1417 and the Western Schism ending.
How was Benedict XVI's replacement decided?
When it comes to replacing a pope, it's not as easy as looking at a family tree or political line of succession.
The decision is up to cardinals, who go through the process of a papal conclave to vote on who they want to take over.
During that period, cardinals are not allowed to have any contact with anyone outside the conclave — they risk excommunication for breaking that rule.
After Benedict XVI stepped down, the majority of the cardinals' vote went to the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who we now know as Pope Francis.
In an interview with a Spanish newspaper, Pope Francis revealed that, shortly after fellow cardinals elected him to succeed Benedict in the papacy, he wrote a resignation letter to have on hand in case medical problems impeded him from carrying out his duties.
Some previous popes reportedly took similar measures, but they were never actioned.
