Benedict XVI: thousands expected to pay respects to former pope

Thousands of people are expected to pay their respects to former pope Benedict XVI, who died on Saturday, in the days leading up to his funeral this week.

Benedict died on Saturday, aged 95, almost 10 years after shocking the Roman Catholic church by becoming the first pope for six centuries to retire. After stepping down, he took the title Pope Emeritus and lived at the Vatican.

He was regarded as a unrivalled theologian and intellectual, but attracted criticism for his failures to recognise and act on the scale of sexual abuse within the global Roman Catholic church.

Associated Press contributed to this report