(Seychelles News Agency) - The President of Seychelles, Wavel Ramkalawan, has sent a message of condolence to Pope Francis I, following the announcement of the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on Saturday, December 31, aged 95.

"It is with great sadness and deep emotion that the people of Seychelles have just learned of the death of His Holiness Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI following a long illness which he accepted with a spirit of serene surrender to the divine will and generous participation in the mystery of the Cross of Christ,” said the President.

Ramkalawan said that in these sorrowful circumstances, together with the people of Seychelles and its government, he expressed their most sorrowful condolences and union in prayer to the Holy See and the Sacred College of Cardinals.

Seychelles has a predominantly Roman Catholic population, with more than 70 percent being believers, followed in congregation size by Anglicans, Hindus, Muslims, other faiths and Christian denominations.

“Seychelles remembers with admiration and respect his tireless work for peace and human dignity and his relentless efforts to maintain and transmit the Gospel message in its authentic purity, never shying away from any difficulty in order to fulfil his ministry and mission. The Catholic Church has lost its shepherd, Christians have lost a source of light for humanity, united in prayer that the fundamental principles of universal ethics may help to promote a renewed sense of profound unity, brotherhood and peace among all members of the human family,” he added.

According to AFP news agency, “The German pope emeritus, whose birth name was Joseph Ratzinger, had been living a quiet life in a former convent inside the Vatican grounds since his resignation. His health had been declining for a long time, and he had almost entirely withdrawn from public few when the Vatican revealed on Wednesday that his situation had worsened.”