Funviralpark The Vatican said the former Pope Benedict XVI, who is in declining health, is in stable condition and was able to attend Mass in his room today.
“Last night the Pope Emeritus was well rested,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement.
“He also attended Holy Mass in his room yesterday afternoon.
Pope Francis on Wednesday revealed that his 95-year-old predecessor was “very ill” and went to see him at his home in the Vatican Gardens.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at Munich Airport before his departure to Rome in 2020
Pope Francis (right) holding hands with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI during his visit to the Vatican in November 2020
Benedict, who in 2013 became the first Pope to step down as head of the Catholic Church worldwide since the Middle Ages, has been in frail health for many years and uses a wheelchair.
But Pope Francis issued a warning Wednesday, revealing to the general public that his predecessor, whose birth name was Joseph Ratzinger, was “very ill”.
Francis called on people to pray for his predecessor before visiting Benedict at the Convent of Our Lady on the Vatican grounds where he lives.
The Vatican confirmed yesterday that the former pope’s health had deteriorated “due to age”, but a Vatican source told AFP on Wednesday that it began to deteriorate “about three days ago”.
“Vital functions, including his heart, are failing,” the source said, adding that hospitalization was not planned because “necessary medical equipment” was at home.
In response to this news, Catholic leaders around the world said they would pray for him, from the United States to Benedict’s native Germany.
The Vatican also announced that it will hold a special Mass at St. John Lateran Basilica in Rome on Friday.
In 2013, Benedict made the shocking decision to resign, citing declining physical and mental health.
His resignation created an unprecedented situation in which two “men in white” – Benedict and Pope Francis – coexist within the walls of a small city-state.
Former Pope Benedict, 95, receives the “Premio Ratzinger” laureate at the Vatican on December 1, 2022.
People gather in St. Peter’s Square the day after the announcement of former Pope Benedict’s declining health, in the Vatican on December 29, 2022
Benedict was 78 years old when he succeeded the long-reigning and popular John Paul II in April 2005.
He had previously served as the church’s principal doctrinal enforcer, earning the nickname “God’s Rottweiler” and a reputation as a generally conservative thinker on theological issues.
However, his papacy was plagued by ecclesiastical infighting and protests against clergy sexual abuse of children.
He became the first pope to express “deep remorse” and meet victims face-to-face to apologize for the abuses occurring around the world.
But while he took significant steps to address the scandal, Benedict was criticized for failing to end the church’s cover-up, and the issue haunted him after retirement.
A January 2022 German Church grim report accused him of personally failing to stop four predatory priests when he was the archbishop of Munich in the 1980s.
A portrait of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is seen near the altar during a service at Regensburg Cathedral in southern Germany on December 29, 2022.
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany – later Pope Benedict XVI – 1977
Benedict has denied wrongdoing, but said in a letter released after the report that he “begs forgiveness.”
“I have had great responsibilities in the Catholic Church, and my pain is even greater for the abuses and errors that have occurred in various places during my tenure,” he wrote.
However, he was unable to impose his authority on the Church’s governing body, the Papacy, and also appeared to have lost control of his family.
In 2012, his butler Paolo Gabriele leaked secret documents to the media, an act of betrayal that deeply saddened the Pope.
His papacy was also marred by a money laundering scandal at the Vatican Bank, exposing infighting among Benedict’s closest allies.
Benedict was the first pope to resign in 600 years, citing aging as a major factor limiting his ability to perform his duties as pope.
Francisco had previously welcomed the resignation of his predecessor due to old age. His resignation paved the way for Francis to be elected the first pope from South America.
Pope Francis, 86, has revealed that he submitted his resignation shortly after the 2013 elections.
Earlier this month, the incumbent pope revealed that he had submitted his resignation shortly after the 2013 election.
Francisco, who turned 86 this year, delivered the letter to the clerk of Tarcisio Bertone, then Cardinal of Vatican City.
Although he is generally in good health, he has been suffering from debilitating knee pain in recent months and has been confined to a wheelchair.
Since then, he has opted to use a cane in public, but downplayed his distress in an interview with In the Spanish newspaper ABC he declared: “People rule with their heads, not their knees.”
When asked what would happen if the Pope were suddenly unable to carry out his duties due to health problems, Francis replied:
“Actually, there are already rules,” Francis revealed, adding, “I already signed the waiver.”
