The Pope Emeritus had lived on the grounds of the Vatican in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery for ten years while his successor, Pope Francis, took the reigns steering the Catholic church towards reform.
During that time, Pope Francis was subjected to conservative criticism by those in favour of a more doctrinaire papacy.
It appears that since Benedict’s death, the criticism has intensified.
Since the current Pontiff presided over the funeral of his predecessor 12 months ago, there have been signs of change in the Vatican.
While Benedict’s absence appears to have led to a conservative backlash against Pope Francis, it appears that the 87-year-old is addressing the dissent.
During the summer, the Vatican announced that Archbishop Georg Gänswein - who served as Prefect of the Papal Household from 2012 to 2023 and was Pope Benedict’s Personal Secretary - would be returning to his home diocese in Germany.
It followed the publication of a book by Archbishop Gänswein earlier in the year, which criticised the path of the Catholic Church under Pope Francis’s papacy.
Georg Gänswein has returned to his home country where, ironically, the German Bishops’ Conference made headlines in recent years for its liberal stance on church reform.
Germany’s Roman Catholic church, like Ireland, and countries around the world, has been undergoing a synodal process.
In 2022, Germany’s Synodal Way made headlines when it reformed church labour law to allow gay priests and bishops publically state their sexuality without fear of losing their jobs.
If an employee of the Roman Catholic church remarried or married a same-sex partner, it would also not be grounds for dismissal.
In response, the Holy See said Germany did not have the power to compel bishops to introduce new forms of governance and "new orientations of doctrine and morals".
Pope Francis urged that the Church "be patient, dialogue and accompany these people on the real synodal path".
A month after Archbishop Georg Gänswein was sent packing, another German, a cardinal and head of the powerful Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was replaced.
Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller who secured the role in 2012 under Pope Benedict, did not have his mandate renewed.
He had openly questioned Pope Francis’s attempts to create a more inclusive church.
The Pontiff sent a signal by removing Gänswein and Müller from their roles before the first Synod on Synodality convened in October.
Described as the culmination of his papacy and perhaps the most important event in the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council, the Synod met for three weeks in October.
A total of 450 lay people from around the world gathered to discuss, listen and create a plan. There was a media blackout.
35 women attended and voted at a general assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the first time.
Prior to October 2023, the Synod was held in a theatre, with the hierarchy ordered in rows of seats.
This time, there were 35 tables enabling participants to have discussions between them as well as move around and mix with others.
'Undergo a transformation’
Representing the Irish Bishops’ Conference were Bishop Alan McGuckian SJ of Raphoe and Bishop Brendan Leahy of Limerick.
"There were divergent views," according to Bishop Leahy, "but the methodology was that there was four minutes to speak, it wasn’t that it was polemical, because you booked your place to speak, and everyone had to take their turn".
There were four minutes of silence after every fourth speaker, for contemplation or prayer.
Bishop Leahy believes the Synod has come at a good time for Ireland.
"We’re facing questions big time in Ireland. The clergy is rapidly declining and this is throwing up basic questions for parishes like how many masses can we have, should we start combining with other parishes and what kind of lay ministries do we need to keep parishes going."
It also means lay people playing a greater role. An increasing number are already leading prayers at funeral homes and in parishes.
In 15 years' time, Bishop Leahy’s Diocese of Limerick will have just 13 priests left under the age of 75.
"That’s a different profile and we’ve to get ready for it. We have to undergo a transformation," he says.
Despite discussion on the topic, the final report from October’s synod did not take a stand on LGBT issues.
Since then, the Vatican has issued a stance on blessings.
Blessings
In a ruling approved by Pope Francis, it said Roman Catholic priests could administer blessings to same-sex couples once they were not part of regular Church rituals or liturgies.
A document from the Vatican's doctrinal office said such blessings would not legitimise irregular situations but be a sign that God welcomes all.
It said priests should decide on a case-by-case basis and "should not prevent or prohibit the Church's closeness to people in every situation in which they might seek God's help through a simple blessing".
Bishop Leahy welcomed the clarification from the Vatican.
"I think Irish people in general would be welcoming of the initiative," he said.
However, Ursula Halligan of We Are Church Ireland had mixed views on the announcement.
While she acknowledged that it was a small step in the right direction, she described it as "totally inadequate, and when you read the detail, quite insulting".
"The Vatican is now saying that priests can bless same-sex couples. But only on condition that it’s "informal and spontaneous."
The Vatican also said this year that members of the trans community could be baptised as Catholics, become godparents and be witnesses at wedding ceremonies.
These clarifications are coming from the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith – the body responsible for promoting and defending Catholic doctrine.
Its improbable Cardinal Müller would have agreed to such "clarifications", had he remained at the helm.
Following the removal of Müller and Gänswein from their roles, a Texan bishop Joseph Strickland was also "relieved" of his duties in November, after he launched a series of attacks on Pope Francis over reforms.
The vacuum created by Benedict’s death, as well as changes that preceded his passing - like Pope Francis’s decision to reimpose restrictions celebrating the Latin Mass which were relaxed by in 2007 – have angered traditionalist Catholics.
At his Christmas greeting with cardinals and senior officials of the Roman Curia two weeks ago, Pope Francis noted that 60 years on from the Second Vatican Council, the division between ‘progressives’ and ‘conservatives’ was still being debated.
He requested that they listen to each other, free of prejudices, with openness and sincerity.
If a week is a long time in politics, a year is a very long time in the Vatican.
When asked about the criticism, Pope Francis described it as "the wear-and-tear of a government of 10 years".