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Former Pope Benedict Is “Very Sick” – Pope Francis Says

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Former pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, 95, who in 2013 became the first pontiff in 600 years to step down, is “very sick”, his successor Pope Francis said on Wednesday, asking the church to pray for him. “I would like to ask all of you to pray a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict,” Francis said at the end of his general audience, in St Peter’s Square. “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 added.


At the end of his general audience, the Pope visited Benedict at his home in the Mater Ecclesiae convent in the grounds of the Vatican.

The Vatican later said in a statement Benedict had suffered a sudden “worsening” of his health in recent hours. It also said his condition was “under control” and that he was receiving constant medical attention.

Benedict has recently withdrawn almost entirely from public view. The last time he was seen in public was last month.

Since his resignation Benedict has been living in a former convent inside the Vatican gardens, with his secretary, Archbishop George Ganswein, and a few other aides and medical staff.

Benedict announced his intention to resign on February 11, 2013, shocking a meeting of cardinals. He noted that he longer had the physical and mental strength to run the church.

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