Pope Francis has today called for global intercession for ailing and frail predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, saying he is “very sick”.
Speaking from Vatican City in Rome earlier today, Pope Francis said he is praying for him and urged other faithful from across the world to do so well.
The Poe said Benedict’s health has been steadily deteriorating.
“I would like to ask all of you to pray a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict. Remember him, because he is very sick, asking the Lord to console and support him.” Pope Francis said at the end of his general audience, speaking in Italian.
Benedict, who in 2013 became the first pontiff to resign in six centuries, has withdrawn almost entirely from public view.
Back in 2013, he cited his declining physical and mental health in his decision to become the first pope since 1415 to give up the job 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 Francis — have co-existed within the walls of the tiny city state.
In April, Benedict’s long-time secretary, Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, told Vatican News the ex-pope was “physically relatively weak and fragile” but “in good spirits.”
