Pope Benedict XVI, who has died at the age of 95, will be remembered as the first pope for over 600 years to resign from the post. But in Edinburgh and Scotland, he will be remembered for a historic visit that took place on September 16, 2010, when he made Edinburgh his first stop on a four-day visit to the UK.
His plane flew into Edinburgh Airport, he met the Queen at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, was driven along Princes Street in a Popemobile and spoke to well-wishers outside the then Cardinal’s residence in Morningside before going in for lunch. He later led a huge outdoor mass in Gasgow’s Bellahouston Park attended by around 65,000 people before flying to London that evening.
Benedict XVI succeeded John Paul II on his death in 2005 but stunned the church and the watching world by standing down in 2013. It was the first resignation by a pope since Gregory XII in 1415. He has since lived quietly in a monastery inside the Vatican. Many tributes have been paid following his death on Friday Dec 31 and thousands of people are filing past his coffin s it lies in state ahead of his funeral on Thursday.
Here are some pictures recalling the day he came to Edinburgh.
9. A fan's welcome
This young fan was there to wave his scarf as Pope Benedict XVI passed by on his progress along Princes Street. Photo: Ian Georgeson
10. Pope's blessings for the faithful
The Pope took time to stop and speak to those who had come to watch during his visit to the Capital and he gave them a blessing. Photo: Paul McSherry
11. 'Wonderful day'
The Papal visit to Edinburgh in 2010 was "a wonderful day", the current Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, the Most Rev Leo Cushley has said, following Benedict XVI's death. Archbishop Cushley was at the time the head of the English language section of the Vatican Secretariat of State and accompanied Benedict on international trips. Photo: Neil Hanna
12. Controversy not far away
Benedict XVI had strong conservative theological views and controversy was never far away. St John's Episcopal Church on Princes Street responded to his visit with a mural highlighting his opposition to the idea of women priests. It showed a female priest with a large red X crossing her out. She was flanked by two other figures condemned by the church - Copernicus, who first proposed the theory that the earth revolved around the sun, and Galileo, who supported the theory - both with similar red Xs. Photo: Neil Hanna