The Pope asks the faithful for a 'special prayer' for Benedict XVI
who, Francis said at the end of the general audience 'is very ill'.
Words that raise concern about the health conditions of 95-year-old Joseph Ratzinger, who was elected Pope on 19 April 2005 and renounced the papal throne on 11 February 2013.
"I would like to ask all of you for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict, who is silently supporting the Church. Remember him, he is very ill, asking the Lord to console him, to support him in this testimony of love for the Church, until the end ", said
Pope Francis
at the end of the general audience.
ANSA. it
Ratzinger's resignation on February 11, 2013 - Specials
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"Regarding the health conditions of the Pope emeritus, for whom Pope Francis asked for prayers at the end of this morning's general audience, I can confirm that
in the last few hours there has been an aggravation due to advancing age
. The situation at the moment it remains under control, followed constantly by the doctors.
At the end of the general audience, Pope Francis went to the Mater Ecclesiae monastery to visit Benedict XVI.
We join him in praying for the Pope Emeritus".
Press office director Matteo Bruni communicated this to journalists
.
The conditions of the Pope Emeritus, Joseph Ratzinger,
already worsened in the days leading up to Christmas
, when he began to complain in particular of "respiratory problems", ANSA learns from qualified sources.
Benedict XVI also spent the solemnity of Christmas at the former Mater Ecclesiae monastery where a house Mass was
officiated for him in the chapel
.
After the sensational resignation of February 11, 2013 and a period of about four weeks intended for the preparation of the conclave, Ratzinger formally renounced the papal throne on February 28, 2013, thus opening the so-called phase of the vacant seat.
At that moment he left the Vatican for a short time, flying by helicopter to Castel Gandolfo, where he spent the time of the Conclave precisely so as not to influence, not even just with his indirect presence, the choice of the new Pope.
But after Bergoglio's election on March 13, 2013, Benedict XVI returned to the Vatican
to take possession of his new home, the Mater ecclesiae monastery on top of Mount Vatican, near the reproduction of the Lourdes Grotto.
Almost nothing official has ever leaked about Benedict XVI's health, except in the declarations of his historic secretary, Msgr. Gaenswein who has always spoken of a "clear head" but of continuous physical aggravations, especially as regards walking problems which at one point they even forced him to use a walker.
Recently, it was the writer and mathematician Giorgio Odifreddi who revealed that Ratzinger has been aphonic for some time
.
It is not known if he has ever contracted covid but he has certainly been vaccinated.
The archbishop of Munich, Reinhard Marx
, invited the faithful to gather in prayer for Benedict XVI, accepting the appeal of Pope Francis.
"If the Holy Father Francis tells us that we must unite in prayer, we will do so today in a special way with young Christians", said the cardinal in Bad Toelz, opening the diocesan days of the Sternsingers in Bavaria.