Vatican City:  Former Pope Benedict XVI has died at his Vatican residence, nine years after he retired from the position, officials said on Saturday.

He was 95.

He led the Catholic Church for less than eight years until, in 2013, he became the first Pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415, reports BBC.

In a statement, Vatican City said: "The Holy See Press Office announced that the Pope Emeritus died at 9:34 AM on Saturday morning in his residence at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, which the 95-year-old Pope emeritus had chosen as his residence after resigning from the Petrine ministry in 2013."