Pope Francis seeks blessings for ‘very sick’ former pope Benedict

Former pope Benedict, who in 2013 grew to become the primary pontiff in 600 years to step down, is “very sick”, his successor Pope Francis mentioned asking the church to hope for him.

New Delhi ,UPDATED: Dec 28, 2022 20:46 IST

Pope Francis (proper) greets Pope Emeritus Benedict throughout a gathering following a consistory ceremony to put in 13 new cardinals on the Vatican on November 28. (Photo: Reuters)

By India Today Web Desk: Pope Francis on Wednesday requested the church to hope for former Pope Emeritus Benedict, whose well being has taken a flip for the more severe and is being saved beneath fixed medical consideration.

“I would like to ask all of you for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict, who, in silence, is sustaining the Church,” mentioned Francis on the finish of his weekly common viewers on Wednesday.

“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,” mentioned the Pope, who visited the previous pontiff shortly after his common viewers.

Later, the Vatican issued an announcement stating that Benedict’s well being had worsened out of the blue in the previous couple of hours. The institution additionally mentioned that though the previous Pope’s situation is “under control”, he was receiving fixed medical consideration.

BENEDICT’S LIFE AFTER STEPPING DOWN FROM POPE’S POSITION

Benedict, the primary German Pope in 1,000 years, was elected on April 19, 2005, to succeed the broadly standard Pope John Paul II, who reigned for 27 years.

On February 11, 2013, Benedict introduced his intention to step down from the Pope’s place, stating he now not had the bodily and psychological power to run the Church.

He formally stepped down on February 28 of the identical yr, turning into the primary pontiff in 600 years to resign from the Pope’s place. Benedict moved briefly to the papal summer season residence south of Rome.

Following his resignation, cardinals from all over the world got here to Rome to decide on his successor and eventually, on March 13, 2013, Francis grew to become the primary Pope from Latin America to imagine cost of the church.

Francis has usually praised Benedict saying it was like having a grandfather in a house. However, the presence of the 2 males wearing white within the Vatican has at occasions been troublesome with Conservatives seeking to the previous pope as their customary bearer and a few ultra-traditionalists even refusing to acknowledge Francis as a reputable pontiff.

Since his resignation, Benedict has been residing in a former convent contained in the Vatican gardens together with his secretary, Archbishop Georg Ganswein and some different aides and medical workers.

BENEDICT ‘VERY SICK’

Pope Francis, who visited Benedict on Wednesday after his weekly common viewers, mentioned the previous pontiff could be very sick.

Until just a few weeks in the past, those that had seen Benedict mentioned his physique was very frail.

One of the most recent identified images of Benedict was taken on December 1 this yr when he met the winners of a prize for theologians named after him. He was seated and appeared exceptionally weak.

Edited By:

Raajnandini Mukherjee

Published On:

Dec 28, 2022