Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s health has begun to worsen.
The current head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, raised the issue of his 95-year-old predecessor’s health at the end of a General Audience on December 28.
“I would like to ask you all for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict, who in silence is supporting the Church,” said Pope Francis. “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 did not elaborate on the former pope’s condition.
Benedict was elected to the papacy on April 19, 2005, succeeding Pope John Paul II, who led the Church for 27 years. He was the first German pope in 1,000 years and the first pontiff to resign in 600 years.
He abdicated the papacy on February 28, 2013. However, he chose to keep the title “Pope Emeritus” upon his retirement, sparking an initiative by canon lawyers to push the Church to regulate the status of retired popes.
Pope Francis turned to social media after his General Audience, reiterating his call for prayers for the retired pope.
“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,” stated Francis in a tweet.
Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, attributed the former pope’s condition to “advancing age.”
“Regarding the health condition of the emeritus pope, for whom Pope Francis asked for prayers at the end of his general audience this morning, I can confirm that in the last hours, a worsening due to advanced age has happened,” said Bruni in a written statement, according to AP News.
Bruni said that the former pope’s health condition remains under control and is being constantly monitored by doctors.
