Benedict XVI, first pope to resign in 600 years, dies aged 95

Pope Benedict XVI, pictured in 2011 (AP)

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the first pontiff in 600 years to resign from the job, has died at the age of 95.

The shy German theologian who tried to reawaken Christianity in a secularised Europe 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.