Pope Francis announced on Wednesday that the former Pope Benedict is very ill. He also asks people to pray for the former pope, writes Reuters.
Pope Benedict was the first in over 600 years to voluntarily resign from his post. He is 95 today.
– Let’s remember that. He is very ill, Pope Francis said on Wednesday.
– I’ll never get to visit grandma
Suddenly worse
The Vatican confirmed on Wednesday that Benedict’s health has deteriorated.
The former pope would have suddenly gotten worse in the last few hours.
His condition is said to be “under control” and he is receiving medical assistance, the Vatican says.
For a long time there were rumors about Benedikt’s state of health. On December 1, photos were taken of the former pope as he met with award-winning theologians named after him.
In the photos, Benedikt was sitting and looking weak, Reuters reports.
In 2013, the abdicated pope resigned at the age of 85. The reason was that he didn’t feel physically and mentally fit for the job.
Ire died after falling off a train
I tried elections
– After repeatedly examining my conscience before God, I have come to the conclusion that the force is no longer adequate to perform the office, he said in a statement at the time published on the Vatican website.
Earlier this year, there was speculation whether Pope Francis, now 85, has the same intends to abdicate.
Francis was elected Pope in 2013 with a mandate to reform the Roman Curia, the central administration of the Roman Catholic Church. Earlier this year, this project, which had been underway for more than nine years, was largely completed.
Pope Francis himself praised Benedict XVI’s desire to abdicate in 2013. At the same time, he predicted that he himself would remain in office for only two to five years.
