Pope Francis announced this morning that his predecessor Benedict XVI was suffering from serious health issues.
Pope Francis, in his usual morning mass, announced that Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI is “very sick” and asked followers to pray for him. Benedict, formerly known as Joseph Ratzinger, is 95 years old and was pope for almost 8 years before resigning.
His resignation in 2013 caused massive shock waves across the catholic world. The last time a pontiff resigned his post was in 1415, to solve a political crisis caused by the creation of an antipope.
Ever since Benedict renounced his role, he lived in the gorgeous Mater Ecclesiae monastery, a Vatican property behind the St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. With him, the monastery is also inhabited by his secretary Georg Gaenswein and the secular Memores Domini sisters.
His successor, Pope Francis, promised to revolutionize the excesses and opulence of the Roman church. He chose this name precisely to remind followers of St. Francis’ teachings, those of poverty and humility.
And so the (peaceful, for once) existence of two popes carried on for almost a decade, with Francis often referring to Ratzinger for advice.
What happened to Benedict XVI
During the decade since he left office, Ratzinger suffered a series of health issues. Most recently, the Pope Emeritus was seen with a serious infection on the face, which seemed like it left parts of it paralyzed.
In 2020, Ratzinger suffered a “painful but not serious condition”, as reported by the Vatican. Before that, he wrote an open letter describing the “slow waning of my physical forces”.
This morning Pope Francis announced that Ratzinger’s health conditions were deteriorating, a claim confirmed later by his physicians. Apparently, the former pope’s health worsened quickly due to old age.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni confirmed Francis’ claim, again citing “advanced age” as the cause. “The situation at the moment remains under control and continually monitored by his doctors,” Bruni said to the press.
The 95 years old Emeritus Pope was born in 1927 in the Weimar Republic. Under Nazi Germany, he served in the Wehrmacht from 1943 until he deserted in 1945, shortly before Hitler’s capitulation.
He became a catholic deacon in 1950, Arch-Bishop in 1977 and Cardinal a few months afterwards also in 1977.
As Cardinal, he was often accused of protecting pedophiles inside the catholic church, and generally his views were much more conservative than those of Francis.
In 2013, he announced his dimmissions as Pope claiming that his physical strength was not enough to sustain that burden. Francis became Pope at the age of 77, being now 86 years old.
