Pope Francis says former Pope Benedict was 'a noble person, so kind'

Pope Francis on Sunday paid tribute to his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, hours after the latter passed away in the Vatican.

"At this moment, my thought goes spontaneously to dear Pope emeritus Benedict XVI who left us this morning. We are moved as we recall him as such a noble person, so kind," Pope Francis said in a statement posted on Twitter.

Pope Francis then expressed gratitude for the former pope's service to the Catholic Church.

"And we feel such gratitude in our hearts: gratitude to God for having given him to the Church and to the world; gratitude to him for all the good he accomplished, and above all, for his witness of faith and prayer, especially in these last years of his recollected life," he added.

"Only God knows the value and the power of his intercession, of the sacrifices he offered for the good of the Church," Pope Francis said.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died at the age of 95, the Vatican announced on Saturday.

"With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican," Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement.

On Monday morning, the body of the former pope will be brought to St. Peter's Basilica to allow the public to pay their respects.

READ: Former Pope Benedict to have simple funeral after lying in state

Born in Germany, the former pope's birth name was Joseph Ratzinger.

After he resigned as pope in February 2013 due to health reasons — the first pontiff to do so since 1415 —, he lived in a former convent inside the Vatican.

Months after his resignation, former Pope Benedict said he resigned after "God told me to".

On Wednesday, Pope Francis said the former pope was "very ill".

He asked for prayers and visited former Pope Benedict.

The Philippines on Saturday expressed its sympathies following the death of former pope Benedict XVI.

"We are in deep sorrow upon learning of the passing of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI today," President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in a statement. —KG, GMA Integrated News