The Vatican confirmed on Wednesday the worsening state of health of pope emeritus Benedict XIV.
Already this morning, Pope Francis had announced that his predecessor is “gravely ill”, asking for a special prayer for Benedict XVI.
“I would like to ask everyone for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. To keep the memory of him alive, because he is seriously ill, to ask the Lord to comfort him and support him, ”said the Pope at the weekly audience.
Benedict XVI, whose original name is Joseph Ratzinger, is currently 95 years old and was Pope between 2005 and 2013, when he abdicated and became emeritus of the diocese of Rome.
Francis’ predecessor was the first pope to resign in 600 years, after Gregory XII in 1415. He has lived for about 10 years in the Mater Ecclesiae monastery in the Vatican.
In his decision, Benedict XVI cited his deteriorating physical and mental health, which will have worsened in 2020, due to a herpes zoster infection on his face.
According to his biographer, Peter Seewald, who visited the pope emeritus in August 2020 to give him his biography, Ratzinger was rational and retained his memory, but his voice was practically imperceptible.
Benedict XVI’s will is already written and will be made public after his death, he added.
Ratzinger expressed his desire to rest in the former tomb of his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, in the crypt of Saint Peter.
John Paul II is buried in the São Sebastião Chapel, adjacent to the one that houses the sculpture La Pietà (Pietà), by Michelangelo.
Source: TSF
