Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the German theologian who will be remembered as the first pope in 600 years to resign, has died at the age of 95.

The Vatican has announced that the former Pope, whose health had been failing, passed away on Saturday. 

A statement from Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said: “With pain I inform that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesia Monastery in the Vatican. Further information will be released as soon as possible.”

The former Pope was the last pontiff to visit Scotland, during a tour in 2010 which saw him hold Mass in Glasgow's Bellahouston Park.

The Herald:

Pope Benedict meets pipers in Edinburgh

Archbishop Leo Cushley, who replaced Cardinal Keith O'Brien as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh in September 2013, worked closely with the late Pope in a role which involved accompanying him on overseas trips.

He told BBC Scotland that the 2010 papal visit to the UK was a personal highlight.

He recalled the "wonderful reception" the Pope got from the Queen at the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the memorable St Ninian's procession through the city centre.

"I had never seen anything like it," he said. "I don't think the Pope had seen anything like it either as he was welcomed there.

"It was a wonderful day."

At the time Archbishop Cushley was part of the diplomatic service of the Holy See - the government of the Roman Catholic Church.

He said that during Pope Benedict's trip to Scotland he had lunch at the official residence of the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh, which is now Archbishop Cushley's home.

From there the delegation travelled to Glasgow for the open air Mass at Bellahouston Park, which was the focal point of the last papal Visit to Scotland by Pope John Paul II in June 1982.

"It was a beautiful autumn afternoon in the September sunshine, even though the Swiss guards had the collars of their jackets turned up and they thought it was perishing cold," he said.

"It was a lovely, happy occasion where not only the Catholics of Scotland welcomed their Pope, the Bishop of Rome, many other people did that too.

"I could not have imagined it any better and, the way it worked out, I was very proud of the way my country welcomed Pope Benedict in their midst."

The Herald:

Pope Benedict meets cardinal Keith O'Brien on arrival in Edinburgh

Benedict stunned the world on February 11 2013 when he announced that he no longer had the strength to run the 1.2 billion-strong Catholic Church that he had steered for eight years through scandal and indifference.

His dramatic decision paved the way for the conclave that elected Pope Francis as his successor.

The two popes then lived side-by-side in the Vatican gardens, an unprecedented arrangement that set the stage for future “popes emeritus” to do the same.

READ MORE: Former Pope criticised over handling of sexual abuse claims

The former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had never wanted to be pope, planning at age 78 to spend his final years writing in the “peace and quiet” of his native Bavaria.

Instead, he was forced to follow the footsteps of the beloved St John Paul II and run the church through the fallout of the clerical sex abuse scandal and then a second scandal that erupted when his own butler stole his personal papers and gave them to a journalist.

Being elected pope, he once said, felt like a “guillotine” had come down on him.

Nevertheless, he set about the job with a single-minded vision to rekindle the faith in a world that, he frequently lamented, seemed to think it could do without God.

“In vast areas of the world today, there is a strange forgetfulness of God,” he told one million young people gathered on a vast field for his first foreign trip as pope, to World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany, in 2005. “It seems as if everything would be just the same even without him.”

The Herald:

The former Pope arrives at Bellahouston Park in 2010

The President of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland Bishop Hugh Gilbert paid tribute to the former Pope, saying: “We lose one of the leading Catholic figures of the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of our own.

"His memorable State visit to the United Kingdom in 2010 began in Scotland. The gentle and prayerful intelligence revealed during that visit disarmed his critics. He was often misunderstood, even caricatured. 

"Contrary to a widespread perception, however, he was a resolutely contemporary “confessor of the faith", deeply and critically engaged with modern thought, a lucid and unacademic preacher and pastorally sensitive."

Bishop Gilbert added: "His bold, independent spirit surprised us all with his decision to resign while in office, the first Pope to do so for centuries. He once wrote: “my basic intention has been to expose the real core of the faith underneath the encrustations, and to give this core its true power and dynamism. This has been the constant direction of my life.” His full stature will surely emerge increasingly. May he rest in peace.”

Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, said Benedict was “one of the great theologians of the 20th century”.

READ MORE: Pope Francis asks for prayers for predecessor

In a statement, he said: “I am deeply saddened to learn of the death of Pope Benedict. He will be remembered as one of the great theologians of the 20th century.

“I remember with particular affection the remarkable Papal Visit to these lands in 2010. We saw his courtesy, his gentleness, the perceptiveness of his mind and the openness of his welcome to everybody that he met.”

“He was through and through a gentleman, through and through a scholar, through and through a pastor, through and through a man of God – close to the Lord and always his humble servant.”

“Pope Benedict is very much in my heart and in my prayers. I give thanks to God for his ministry and leadership.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted: “I am saddened to learn of the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

“He was a great theologian whose UK visit in 2010 was an historic moment for both Catholics and non-Catholics throughout our country.

“My thoughts are with Catholic people in the UK and around the world today.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer tweeted: “I am sorry to hear of the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict.

“His state visit in 2010 was a historic and joyous moment for Catholics in Britain. May he rest in peace.”

In a message to Pope Francis on the death of former Pope Benedict, the King said: “Your Holiness, I received the news of the death of your predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, with deep sadness.

“I remember with fondness my meeting with His Holiness during my visit to the Vatican in 2009. His visit to the United Kingdom in 2010 was important in strengthening the relations between the Holy See and the United Kingdom.

“I also recall his constant efforts to promote peace and goodwill to all people, and to strengthen the relationship between the global Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church.

“My wife and I send you our continued good wishes for your own pontificate.

“Charles R.”