Pope Benedict

Pope Francis has said former Pope Benedict XVI is very ill and he has asked pilgrims at the Vatican to pray for him. Benedict, 95, became the first leader ...

But his papacy was marked by a scandal involving child sexual abuse by priests. Benedict had presided over his predecessor John Paul's funeral Mass. At the end of the Pope's final audience of the year, he asked people to "pray a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict".

Key Points · Catholic church leaders from around the world join in prayer for Pope Benedict · Watch: Pope Francis asks for prayers for 'very sick' predecessor ...

Since then he has lived in a convent on He is very sick, asking the Lord to console and sustain him in this witness of love for the Church, until the end,” Francis said, speaking in Italian. On 1 December, Pope Benedict received the two winners of the Ratzinger prize in the Vatican; bible scholar Friar Michel Fedou and Professor Joseph Weiler. He said he would prefer to find a church in Rome where he could continue hearing confessions. “I would like to ask all of you for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict, who, in silence, is sustaining the Church. It’s a marvel.” He has been living in the Vatican since then. Francis said that Benedict was a “saintly and discreet man”, but added: “In the future, things should be delineated more, or things should be made more explicit. From humble Bavarian origins, his father was a policeman and his mother a hotel cook. The health of Pope Benedict has suddenly worsened due to his age, the Vatican has said in a statement. His father, also called Joseph, was a staunch Catholic and an anti-Nazi. [Vatican](/topic/vatican) has confirmed that former Pope Benedict is very ill, saying that his health has “worsened in the last hours”.

Pope Benedict, 95, resigned as pontiff in February 2013, becoming the first pope to resign in 600 years. FILE - Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI arrives in St.

Some loyalists failed to accept that he had resigned the papacy willingly and continued to consider him “my pope”. The former pope acknowledged in an emotional personal letter that errors had occurred and asked for forgiveness. The Vatican, under Pope John Paul, had failed to take action against Maciel despite overwhelming evidence of his crimes. Pope Benedict ordered an inquiry into abuse in Ireland, which led to the resignation of several bishops. “I’d like to ask all of you for a special prayer for Emeritus Pope Benedict, who, in silence, is sustaining the church,” he said in remarks towards the end of an hour-long audience. He was called “a safe pair of hands” upon being chosen.

Pope Francis has said former Pope Benedict XVI is very ill and he has asked pilgrims at the Vatican to pray for him. Benedict, 95, became the first leader ...

Cardinals around the world joined Pope Francis in praying for his predecessor. But his papacy was marked by a scandal involving child sexual abuse by priests. Benedict had presided over his predecessor John Paul's funeral Mass. "He speaks softly but follows your conversation," Pope Francis told Spanish newspaper ABC. Although Benedict was the first Pope for 600 years to stand down, Pope Francis made clear in his Spanish interview this month that he too had signed a letter of resignation in 2013 "in case of health impediment or whatever", handing it to Cardinal Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state at the time. At the end of the Pope's final audience of the year, he asked people to "pray a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict".

Former Pope Benedict XVI is said to be very sick, amid calls to keep the former Cardinal Ratzinger in their prayers.

The former pontiff famously visited Scotland in 2010, as part of a four-day tour of the UK. Later, he travelled to Glasgow where he celebrated an open-air mass in front of 70,000 people in Bellahouston Park. Benedict, now aged 95, was the first pope in around 600 years to resign, and has since been living in the Vatican.

Pope Benedict XVI became the first pope to resign from the role in 600 years back in February 2013, but now Pope Francis warns that he is very unwell and ...

The [BBC](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64107730) reports that Pope Benedict cited his ‘advanced age’ for his reason behind resigning as it prevented him from living up to the role properly. For example, he is the first Pope originating from the Americas, the first to come from outside Europe in 1272 years and the first who took the name Francis (which originates from Saint Francis of Assisi). 95-year-old Benedict resigned from his role as pontiff back in February 2013 which made him the first pope to do so in 600 years, these days he lives in the Vatican in a convent.

I grew up in a traditional English family, surrounded by cousins, chivvied by aunts, presided over by my grandmother, who insisted on Sunday church.

The great joy comes from the fact that there is this great love, and that is the essential message of faith. The Two Popes, available on Netflix, presents Pope Benedict in a softer light. I had admired Christopher Hitchens back in the day and happily adopted his belief that she was a fraud. Once, it made sense to me to accuse her of being ‘in love with suffering’ and think a deathbed baptism tantamount to ‘forced conversion’. Hitchens was in denial about the reality of death. When God is not there, the world becomes desolate, and everything becomes boring, and everything is completely unsatisfactory. ‘-Mother Teresa helped the poor, the drug addicts and the Aids patients,’ I read. The more I read of Fr Leo’s book, the stranger my former position seemed. Fr Leo kindly gave me a copy (Mother Teresa of Calcutta: A Personal Portrait) and I picked it up idly earlier this year. I can still summon my old impression of the Catholic Church — kitsch, gloomy, misogynistic — but then there’s how life inside it feels too. Lewis’s Narnia books and if I thought about Jesus it was in an English setting. I grew up in a traditional English family, surrounded by cousins, chivvied by aunts, presided over by my grandmother, who insisted on Sunday church.

Pope Francis has said that his predecessor Pope Benedict, the 95-year-old former pontiff who resigned from the post nine years ago, is "very sick" after a ...

“Sadly, many clergy abuse victims are not out of the woods in terms of healing from their wounds and getting the justice they deserve,” SNAP wrote. Benedict’s announcement marked the first time a pope had stepped down in nearly 600 years. He is very sick,” Francis said during his general audience at the Vatican on Wednesday. “We ask the Lord to console and sustain him in this witness of love for the Church to the very end.” Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington, DC, asked Catholics and “folks of good will to pray for Benedict XVI,” in a Twitter post Wednesday. Pope Francis has said that his predecessor Pope Benedict, the 95-year-old former pontiff who resigned from the post nine years ago, is “very sick” after a deterioration in his health on Wednesday.

Pope Francis has visited Benedict, who resigned as pontiff in February 2013, the first pope to retire in 600 years.

He was elected pontiff in 2005. But in recent years, he wasn’t strong enough to attend the long service. In one of his previously publicised visits, Pope Francis had called on Benedict at the monastery four months ago.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Former pope Benedict, a hero to conservative Catholics and who in 2013 became the first pontiff in 600 years to step down, is "very ...

The health of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has worsened due to his age, and doctors are constantly monitoring the 95-year-old's condition, the Vatican has ...

"My thoughts are with the emeritus pope," Bishop Baetzing told German news agency dpa. But in recent years, he wasn't strong enough to attend the long service. In one of his previously publicised visits, Pope Francis had called on Benedict at the monastery four months ago.

People around the globe are praying for Benedict XVI at the invitation of Pope Francis, as the Pope Emeritus' health remains stable but under ...

Major Archbishop Shevchuk met recently with Benedict at his residence in the Vatican’s Mater Ecclesiae Monastery on 10 November. He later recounted that the Pope Emeritus was “incredibly lucid, informed and solicitous about the situation in Ukraine, and had assured his prayers for the Ukrainian people.” “He is absolutely lucid and alert.

Pope Francis has renewed his invitation for people to pray for Benedict and "accompany him in these difficult hours".

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said: "The Pope Emeritus was able to rest well last night. "Pope Francis renews his invitation to pray for him and accompany him in these difficult hours." Pope Francis has renewed his invitation for people to pray for Benedict and "accompany him in these difficult hours".

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is "lucid and vigilant" but his condition remains serious, the Vatican said Thursday in an update on the former pontiff's health.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) said many people would have “mixed feelings” about the life of Benedict. “I want to ask you all for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict who sustains the Church in his silence. He was elected as the 265th pope in April 2005, following John Paul II’s death. Benedict’s announcement marked the first time a pope had stepped down in nearly 600 years. “We ask the Lord to console and sustain him in this witness of love for the Church to the very end.” [Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI](https://cnn.com/2022/12/28/europe/pope-benedict-sick-pope-francis-intl/index.html) is “lucid and vigilant” but his condition remains serious, the Vatican said Thursday in an update on the former pontiff’s health.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI shared a "great affinity" with the late Queen, the Catholic Archbishop of Westminster has said.

He was very, very weak, but very bright and very alert and very with it." "But he was always so courteous. And she was 95, she held her office to the end and I think he admired that very much.

Aged 95, he remains in a serious but stable condition, a day after Pope Francis said he was very ill.

The former Pope is now under the constant supervision of doctors. His papacy was marked by a scandal involving child sexual abuse by priests. In a further statement, on Thursday, it said "although his condition remains serious, the situation at the moment is stable".

When Benedict XVI resigned in 2013 citing old age, he became the first pope in 600 years to step down from the role. Born Joseph Ratzinger, the German cardinal ...

But in this case, Pope Francis will officiate over the funeral, to be held in St Peter's Square. But because Benedict was no longer pope some of the cardinal's tasks may no longer be appropriate. Born Joseph Ratzinger, the German cardinal was elected in April 2005 and chose to go by the name of Benedict.