Death is rarely simple when you're the first person in six centuries to step down from the Chair of Saint Peter. When people ask how did the pope pass away, they’re usually thinking of Benedict XVI, the "Pope Emeritus" who turned the Vatican upside down by retiring in 2013. He didn't die in the middle of a busy schedule or during a public mass. He died quietly, almost hidden away, in a converted convent called Mater Ecclesiae.
It was December 31, 2022. New Year’s Eve.
He was 95. Honestly, at that age, the "how" is usually a long, slow decline rather than a sudden shock. But the specifics matter because they reveal a lot about how the modern Papacy handles its aging leaders. Benedict’s health hadn't been great for a long time. He was frail. He used a wheelchair. His voice had become a thin whisper that even his closest aide, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, struggled to hear sometimes.
The medical reality of Benedict’s final week
Things took a sharp turn right after Christmas 2022. It wasn’t a secret, but the Vatican kept it low-key until Pope Francis spilled the beans during a general audience on December 28. He told the world that Benedict was "very sick" and asked for prayers. That’s when the "Vatican watchers" knew the end was close.
The official cause? Respiratory failure aggravated by his advanced age.
Basically, his body just gave out. He had been suffering from various age-related ailments for years, including a painful case of shingles back in 2020 that really sapped his energy. By the end of December, his kidneys started failing. His breathing became labored. When you’re 95, a simple infection or a dip in organ function is often the final domino.
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The Vatican’s medical team, led by Dr. Patrizio Polisca, kept him comfortable. They didn't rush him to the Gemelli Hospital—the place where Popes usually go when things get hairy. Benedict wanted to stay home. He stayed in his bedroom in the monastery, surrounded by books and the people who had cared for him for a decade. It was peaceful, which is a far cry from the chaotic, public death of his predecessor, John Paul II.
Those famous final words
There’s always a bit of drama regarding a Pope's last words. People want something profound. Something theological.
According to Gänswein, Benedict’s last coherent words were spoken in Italian around 3:00 AM on the day he died. He whispered, "Signore, ti amo!" which translates to "Lord, I love you." A nurse was the only one who heard it. He wasn't giving a lecture or writing an encyclical. He was just a man facing the end. He died a few hours later, at 9:34 AM.
Comparing Benedict and John Paul II: Two very different endings
To understand the weight of how did the pope pass away in the modern era, you have to look at the contrast between Benedict and John Paul II.
John Paul II’s death in 2005 was an international event. He suffered publicly. We saw him at the window, unable to speak, struggling with Parkinson’s. It was a long, agonizing "Way of the Cross" that played out on global television. When he died, it was from septic shock and cardio-circulatory collapse following a urinary tract infection. The world watched the monitors.
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Benedict chose a different path. By resigning, he essentially separated the office from the man. When he finally passed, he wasn't the reigning Pope. This created a massive protocol headache for the Vatican. Do you give a retired Pope a full state funeral? Do you ring the bells of St. Peter’s the same way?
The answer was a bit of a hybrid.
- He had a funeral presided over by a sitting Pope, which was a historical first.
- The guest list for world leaders was kept shorter than usual.
- He was buried in the three-layered casket (cypress, zinc, and oak) just like a reigning pontiff.
What most people get wrong about the "Two Popes" era
There’s this weird conspiracy theory culture that suggests Benedict was "forced out" or that his death was hastened by stress. There is zero evidence for that. If you look at the medical timeline, the man lived to 95. That's a massive innings by any standard.
He had a pacemaker. He had suffered a minor stroke years before he even became Pope. The reality is that he was a scholar who lived a very sedentary, intellectual life. His passing was the natural conclusion of a body that had simply reached its limit.
Interestingly, his death changed the vibe in the Vatican instantly. While he was alive, he was a "shadow" figure that conservatives could rally around if they didn't like what Pope Francis was doing. Once he passed, that tension point disappeared.
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Practical insights for following Vatican transitions
If you are tracking how the Catholic Church handles the passing of its leaders, there are a few things to keep an eye on for the future. The protocol is shifting.
Watch the health bulletins. The Vatican is notoriously private about health. If the sitting Pope mentions a predecessor is "very ill," it usually means the end is days—not weeks—away.
Understand the terminology. When you hear "respiratory failure" in an elderly patient, it’s often a secondary effect of the heart or kidneys slowing down. It’s the clinical way of saying the system has stopped supporting itself.
The "Propter Aetatem" Factor. This is Latin for "because of age." In official Vatican documents, you’ll see this used to explain why certain ceremonies are shortened or why a Pope might skip an event. It was the constant underlying theme of Benedict’s final five years.
For those interested in the historical record, you can actually visit the Vatican Grottoes. Benedict is buried in the same spot where John Paul II was originally laid before he was moved upstairs for his canonization. It’s a simple tomb. No frills. That’s exactly how he wanted it.
To get a better sense of the history, you can look up the official Rogito—the document detailing his life and death that was placed in a metal cylinder inside his coffin. It's a standard tradition, but Benedict's was unique because it specifically mentioned his "courageous" resignation, framing his death not as an end of a reign, but as the end of a long, quiet service in the background.