Thousands of mourners gathered from all around the world on
January 5th, in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican to pay their
respects to Pope Benedict XVI as he was laid to rest. Where popes usually live
out their role to the end of the days, Benedict was the first pontiff in 600
years to step down as head of the Catholic Church. The funeral service of Benedict
was led by His successor, Argentinian Pope Francis.
Benedict XVI, at the age of 95 years, on December 31st, passed away. He was born as Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, and resigned from the pontificate on February 28, 2013, when he was just under 86 years old. He is survived by Pope Francis, who celebrated his 86th birthday on December 17, making him the third oldest supreme pontiff in history to hold office.
As the infographic shows, only two other sitting popes in
the history have reached an older age than Francis (born Jorge Mario
Bergoglio). At 93, Leo XIII was by far the oldest sitting pope. His tenure
lasted for 25 years, from 1878 to 1903. The most extensive documented period as
leader of the Church was spent by his predecessor Pius IX (1846-1878) with a
tenure of more than 31 years, before he died at 85 years and nine months. It is
estimated that only St. Peter, the first bishop of Rome, served as supreme
pontiff for longer (estimated about 34 years).
