Pope Benedict XVI, 95, is “very ill,” Pope Francis told those present at his General Audience in Rome this morning. Pope Francis then tweeted on his official account (link): “Let us #PrayTogether for Pope Emeritus Benedict who is supporting the Church in silence. Let us ask the Lord to console him and to sustain him in this witness of love for the Church, until the end.”
December 28, 2022: Feast of the Holy Innocents
Letter #136, 2022 Wed Dec 28: “Pray for Benedict”
Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, 95, is gravely ill.
Italian reports say that he has suffered problems with his breathing in the past few days.
The news was made public this morning in Rome by Pope Francis in a surprise announcement at the end of his regular Wednesday General Audience.
“I would like to ask all of you for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict, who, in silence, is sustaining the Church,” Francis said in Italian.
“Remember him — he is very ill — asking the Lord to console him, and sustain him in this witness of love for the Church, until the end,” Francis added.
Pope Francis then went to Pope Benedict’s residence to visit Pope Benedict’s bedside.
Pope Francis then tweeted: “Let us #PrayTogether for Pope Emeritus Benedict who is supporting the Church in silence. Let us ask the Lord to console him and to sustain him in this witness of love for the Church, until the end.”
“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 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,” Vatican Press office director Matteo Bruni said in an official communique to journalists. (link)
The official Vatican News also published this “Prayer for the health of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI” (link):
“Let us pray.
Almighty and Eternal God,
You are the everlasting health of those who believe in You.
Hear our prayers for your sick servant Benedict for whom we implore the aid of Your tender mercy,
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.”
***
The following message from Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was issued on February 8, 2022, more than 10 months ago:
“Quite soon, I shall find myself before the final judge of my life.
“Even though, as I look back on my long life, I can have great reason for fear and trembling, I am nonetheless of good cheer, for I trust firmly that the Lord is not only the just judge, but also the friend and brother who himself has already suffered for my shortcomings, and is thus also my advocate, my ‘Paraclete.’
“In light of the hour of judgement, the grace of being a Christian becomes all the more clear to me.
“It grants me knowledge, and indeed friendship, with the judge of my life, and thus allows me to pass confidently through the dark door of death.”
***
Below is text from a Reuters report today on this news. —RM
Former pope Benedict ‘very sick’, Pope Francis calls for prayers (link)
By Phil Pullella
VATICAN CITY, Dec 28 (Reuters) – Former Pope Benedict, a hero to conservative Catholics and who in 2013 became the first pontiff in 600 years to step down, is “very sick,” his successor Pope Francis said on Wednesday, asking Church members to pray for him.
Bishops from Europe, the United States and beyond, urged the faithful to keep Benedict in their thoughts, after the Vatican followed Francis’ announcement with a statement saying Benedict had suffered a sudden “worsening” of his health.
“I would like to ask all of you for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict, who, in silence, is sustaining the Church,” Francis said in Wednesday’s surprise announcement made at the end of his weekly general audience.
“Let us remember him. He is very sick, asking the Lord to console and sustain him in this witness of love for the Church, until the end,” Francis said, speaking in Italian.
The Vatican statement said Benedict was receiving constant medical attention and his condition was under control.
Francis, who visited the former pontiff after making the announcement, has often praised Benedict, saying it was like having a grandfather at home.
(…)
Catholic Church leaders from Germany, Britain, the United States and elsewhere urged the faithful on social media to join prayers for Benedict, who was pope for almost eight years before he retired.
“This morning I received the news that there is great concern in Rome about the health of the Pope Emeritus. And so we especially want to include him in our prayers,” German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich, told churchgoers.
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, head of the Italy’s bishops conference, asked Italians to keep Benedict in their thoughts “in this moment of suffering and trial.”
Until a few weeks ago, those who had seen Benedict said his body was very frail but his mind was still sharp.
Italian news reports said he had been suffering from respiratory problems over the Christmas period.
The Vatican did not give any details of his condition. There was no immediate response to a request for comment from Benedict’s private secretary.
One of the latest known photographs of Benedict was taken on Dec. 1, when he met the winners of a prize for theologians named after him. He was seated and looked exceptionally weak.
Since resigning Benedict has been living in a former convent inside the Vatican gardens, with his secretary, Archbishop Georg Ganswein, and a few other aides and medical staff.
Benedict announced his intention to resign on Feb. 11, 2013, shocking a meeting of cardinals. He said he no longer had the physical and mental strength to run the Church.
He formally stepped down on Feb. 28 that year, moving temporarily to the papal summer residence south of Rome while cardinals from around the world came to Rome to choose his successor.
Francis, the first pope from Latin America, was elected to succeed him on March 13, 2013.
Benedict, the first German pope in 1,000 years, had been elected on April 19, 2005 to succeed the widely popular Pope John Paul II, who reigned for 27 years.
Cardinals had chosen Benedict from among their number seeking continuity and what one called “a safe pair of hands”.
For nearly 25 years, as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, he was the powerful head of the Vatican’s doctrinal office, then known as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF).
Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Edmund Blair
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