Pope Francis asks for prayers for ‘very ill’ predecessor Pope Benedict XVI
For free real-time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox, sign up for our breaking news emails
Sign up to our free emails for breaking news
Pope Emeritus Benedict “rested well” and participated in a mass yesterday afternoon, the Vatican said.
“His condition is currently stable,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement on Friday.
The Vatican has said former Pope Benedict’s condition remains “serious” but stable, after Pope Francis said the former pontiff is “very ill”.
The Vatican previously said his deteriorating health was due to his “advanced age”, adding that Benedict was constantly monitored by doctors.
Pope Francis said on Wednesday: “I want to ask all of you for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict, who, in silence, sustains the Church. Let us remember him.
“He is very sick, asking the Lord to comfort him and sustain him in this witness of love to the Church, until the end.”
Benedict, who is 95, became the first pope in about 600 years to resign in 2013. He has lived in the Vatican ever since.
key points
Show latest update 1672412651
Ex-Pope Benedict is stable and participated in Mass last night – Vatican
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, whose health has deteriorated, is in a stable condition and was able to participate in Mass in his room, the Vatican has reported.
“Last night the pope emeritus was able to rest well,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement. “He also participated in the celebration of Holy Mass in his room yesterday afternoon. His condition is currently stable.”
On Wednesday, Pope Francis revealed that his 95-year-old predecessor was “very ill” and visited him at his home in the Vatican gardens.
Matt Mathers December 30, 2022 3:04 p.m
1672398782
Pope Francis asks for prayers for “very sick” predecessor.
Pope Francis has called for prayers for his “very ill” predecessor, Benedict.
In remarks at his final hearing of the year, he asked people to “say a special prayer” for the ailing ex-pope.
He had addressed an audience in the Paul VI room in the Vatican.
Pope Francis with his predecessor Benedict
(AFP/Getty)
Matt Mathers December 30, 2022 11:13 am
1672394432
Recap: Who is former Pope Benedict XVI?
The former pope was known as the “Rottweiler of God” for his hard-line conservative views.
My colleague Thomas Kingsley takes a closer look at Pope Benedict XVI:
Matt Mathers December 30, 2022 10:00 AM
1672390832
When Benedict dies, the same unclear protocols will apply
It is unclear whether the usual protocols will apply when ex-Pope Benedict dies, an expert said.
The Catholic Church has strict rules for when its leader dies.
Citing old age, Benedict XVI resigned in 2013, becoming the first pope in six centuries to leave the role.
He has continued to live in the Vatican, meaning there have been two popes living side by side for nearly a decade.
“We’ve never had this before where a living pope will help bury a dead pope,” Catholic historian John McGreevy said.
Matt Mathers30 December 2022 09:00
1672387211
The “state tomb” of Pope Benedict
Pope Francis revealed on Wednesday that Pope Benedict was “very ill” and visited him at his home in the Vatican where he has lived since retiring in 2013, prompting fears he was close to death.
The Vatican later said that Benedict’s health had deteriorated in recent hours, but that the situation was under control while doctors monitored him.
Benedict in 2013 became the first pope in 600 years to resign, choosing to live out his retirement in seclusion in a converted monastery in the Vatican Gardens.
A man looks at a picture of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, placed at the Marktl church in southern Germany on December 28, 2022
(AFP via Getty Images)
Few had expected his retirement, now in its tenth year, to outlast his eight-year reign as pope.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said yesterday that Benedict “managed to rest well last night, is absolutely lucid and alert and today, although his condition remains serious, the situation at the moment is stable”.
“Pope Francis renews the invitation to pray for him and accompany him in these difficult hours,” he said.
Namita Singh December 30, 2022 8:00 PM
1672385411
What would happen if Pope Benedict dies?
Word of Pope Benedict’s failing health immediately raised questions about what would happen when he died, given the unprecedented reality of having a reigning pope presumably preside over the funeral of a former pope.
Most Vatican experts expect any funeral to resemble that of any retired bishop of Rome, though with the caveat that there would be official delegations to honor a former head of state, as well as pilgrims from Germany — the homeland of Benedict, the former Joseph Ratzinger—. and beyond.
A book where parishioners can write their thoughts and prayers for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is seen at the St. Oswald Catholic Church in Marktl, southern Germany, on December 29, 2022.
(AFP via Getty Images)
Otherwise, while the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano headlined its editions yesterday with news of Benedict’s health, life continued as normal in the small city-state that Benedict and Pope Francis call home.
Francis had a seemingly routine day of audiences yesterday, meeting with his ambassador to Madagascar, the commander of the Swiss Guard and a fellow Jesuit.
In the square, the line of tourists waiting to enter St. Peter’s Basilica has wrapped almost completely around the square, with couples and families stopping to pose for selfies in front of the life-size nativity scene and the Christmas tree installed in the square.
Namita Singh December 30, 2022 7:30 pm
1672383643
In pictures: Believers from around the world join in prayer for Pope Benedict
A portrait of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is seen near the altar of the cathedral in Regensburg, southern Germany, on December 29, 2022, during a church service.
(Getty Images)
A group of nuns queues in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican on December 28, 2022
(AFP via Getty Images)
A worshiper stands in front of a picture of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI next to a prayer bench at the St. Oswald Catholic Church in Marktl, southern Germany, on December 29, 2022.
(AFP via Getty Images)
A nun sits under the columns in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican on December 28, 202
(AFP via Getty Images)
Namita Singh December 30, 2022 7:00 PM
1672381811
Believers offer prayers amid Pope Benedict’s ‘serious’ health condition
Bishops from Germany called for prayers and some of the faithful headed to the Chapel of Grace in the town square of Altoetting, a major pilgrimage destination just a few miles from Benedict’s hometown of Marktl am Inn. which he visited many times in his life.
“I know he has been preparing for his homecoming to the eternal world,” said Herbert Hofauer, the retired mayor of the deeply Catholic city who said he last saw Benedict in the spring.
“I think he’s very calmly looking forward to this meeting.”
At St. Oswald’s Church in Marktl, where Benedict was baptized, the lay head of the local congregation Sandra Maier placed a framed picture of the former pope and arranged a small bench for parishioners to kneel and pray for him.
Visitors walk through St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican on December 28, 2022
(AFP via Getty Images)
Maier said she was “shocked and deeply moved by the news” about Benedict’s health.
“I wish that now he will have an easy time and that he will not suffer so much,” he said.
“We are proud here in Marktl to have a Bavarian pope,” said Maier, 50, recalling the two times he met him in person.
“He’s a good man and a great dad.”
Although St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican yesterday was mostly filled with visitors from abroad, during the Christmas tourist season, some Italians were out to pay their respects or at least say a prayer.
“Obviously it’s a bad situation, we’re all close to Pope Ratzinger, we’re sad about the situation, so we’ve come here to make our small contribution,” said one pilgrim, Giorgio Gibin.
Namita Singh December 30, 2022 6:30 pm
1672380043
Vatican: Benedict XVI lucid, stable, but the condition is “serious”
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is lucid, alert and stable, but his condition remains serious, the Vatican said yesterday, a day after it revealed the 95-year-old’s health had recently deteriorated.
A portrait of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is seen near the altar of the cathedral in Regensburg, southern Germany, on December 29, 2022, during a church service.
(AFP via Getty Images)
In a statement, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Pope Francis asked for continued prayers “to accompany him in these difficult hours.”
Namita Singh December 30, 2022 6:00 p.m
1672376400
Pope Francis asks for prayers for ‘very ill’ predecessor Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Francis asks for prayers for ‘very ill’ predecessor Pope Benedict XVI
Maryam Zakir-Hussain December 30, 2022 05:00