Pope Francis asks for prayers for the ‘very ill’ predecessor Pope Benedict
Updated at 11.30am
Pope Francis appealed for prayers for his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI who, he said, is “very sick”.
The 95-year-old, who now lives quietly in Vatican City, became the first Pope to resign in 600 years when he left office in 2013.
At the end of his general audience on Wednesday, Francis said he was praying for Benedict.
“I would like to ask you all to say a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict,” Francis said.
He called the people to “remember him, because he is very sick, and ask the Lord to console him and support him”.
Back in 2013, he cited declining physical and mental health in his decision to become the first pope since 1415 to step down as head of the worldwide Catholic church.
The German Pope emeritus, whose real name is Joseph Ratzinger, has been living a quiet life in a former convent inside the Vatican.
His resignation created an unprecedented situation in which two Popes – Benedict and his successor, Pope Francis – co-existed within the walls of the small city-state.
In April, Benedict’s secretary, Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, told Vatican News that the former Pope was “physically relatively weak and fragile”, but “in good spirit”.
God’s Rottweiler
Benedict was 78 years old when he succeeded the reigning and popular John Paul II in April 2005.
His papacy was marred by internal Church strife and an outcry about pedophilia.
He became the first pontiff to apologize for the scandals that broke out around the world, expressing “deep remorse” and meeting the victims personally.
But while he has taken major steps to tackle clerical child abuse, he has been criticized for failing to end the Church’s cover-up.
The abuse scandal hit him again in retirement.
A damning report for the German church in January 2022 accused him of personally failing to stop four predatory priests in the 1980s while he was Archbishop of Munich.
Benedict has denied wrongdoing and the Vatican has vigorously defended his record.
Unlike his successor Pope Francis, a Jesuit who enjoys being among his flock, Benedict is considered a conservative intellectual.
He was called “God’s Rottweiler” in a previous post as chief doctrinal enforcer.
But as pontiff he seemed overwhelmed by the challenges facing a Church that was losing influence and followers, and years of turmoil in the Vatican took their toll.
He resigned in February 2013 in an announcement given to the cardinals in Latin, and later said that the decision was the result of a mystical experience.
Independent journalism costs money. Times of Malta support for price of a coffee.
Support us