ISLAMABAD: Pakistani leaders expressed condolences over the death Pope Benedict XVI late Saturday night while assuring the country’s Christian community that the government stood with them and shared their grief.
Benedict, who was the first pontiff in 600 years to resign his position, used the title of Pope emeritus during the last decade of his life. His death of Saturday brought to an end an extraordinary period in which two men wearing white lived in the Vatican.
The first German pope in a thousand years, Benedict experienced a rapid decline in his health over Christmas before his death at the age of 95.
Leaders from across the world, including Pakistan, reacted to the tragic development while offering condolences and praying for the departed soul.
“Deeply saddened to learn about the passing of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI,” PM Shehbaz wrote in a Twitter post. “He would be mourned by millions around the world, including in Pakistan. May his soul rest in eternal peace.”

 
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also expressed grief over Benedict’s death.
“We are saddened to learn about the passing away of Pope Benedict XVI,” he wrote on Twitter. “May he rest in peace. We join our Christian compatriots and Catholics around the world in prayers for His Holiness at this time of mourning.”

 
The Vatican said Benedict’s body would remain in St. Peter’s Basilica from Monday until Pope Francis led his funeral on Thursday morning.
The Vatican has painstakingly elaborated rituals for what happens after a reigning pope dies, though no publicly known ones for a former pope.
The authorities in Vatican said official government delegations at the funeral would be limited to those from Germany and Italy.
Other dignitaries would attend in a private capacity.