Benedict XVI: ‘his vital functions give up’, but ex-pope remains ‘conscious’

Former Pope Benedict XVI is “conscious” and his condition remains “stable,” the Vatican said Thursday, a day after Pope Francis called for prayers for his 95-year-old predecessor, who is “seriously ill.”

“The Pope Emeritus rested well last night, woke up and is fully conscious, and today, although his condition remains serious, the situation is stable at this stage,” the ministry’s director of service said in a press release. , Matteo Bruni. Pope Francis “renews his invitation to pray for him and accompany him through these difficult times,” he concludes.

François announced on Wednesday that his predecessor was “seriously ill” and that he was praying for the one whose 2013 abdication for health reasons took the world by surprise. “His health deteriorated about three days ago. He is losing vital functions, including his heart,” a source in the Vatican told AFP, adding that hospitalization was not planned because Benedict XVI’s residence has the necessary medical equipment.

He resides in the monastery of Mater Ecclesiæ.

Francis himself visited Benedict XVI on Wednesday at the monastery of Mater Ecclesiae, the residence of the honorary pope, located in the heart of the Vatican gardens. The ex-dad has been looking increasingly frail in recent months, using a wheelchair but continuing to receive visitors. The photographs taken during his last visit, dated 1 December, show a frail and visibly weakened man.

In the latest public video of Benedict XVI, released by the Vatican in August, we also see a emaciated man with a hearing aid who can no longer speak, but whose eyes are still alive.

The President of the French Episcopal Conference, Eric de Moulin-Beaufort, tweeted a message in support of Benedict XVI: “Lord, Catholics of France, in communion with Pope Francis and the whole Church, I entrust Your servant to You. XVI and those who look after him. Similar messages have been delivered by senior church leaders in Italy, Germany, the United States, and South America.

On Friday, a mass will be celebrated in his honor at the Roman Basilica of St. John Lateran, which is directly dependent on the Vatican.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, real name Joseph Ratzinger, retired in 2013 due to poor health and retired to a monastery in the Vatican Gardens.

After eight years of pontificate marked by numerous crises, Benedict XVI was caught up in the drama of juvenile delinquency in the church in early 2022. Asked about how he dealt with sexual abuse in Germany when he was Archbishop of Munich, he broke his silence to ask for a “pardon” but assured he never covered up for a child offender.

Rejection of a personal decision

His abdication, which was announced in Latin on February 11, 2013, was a personal decision related to his weakening and not the pressure of scandals, the former pope assured in a book of revelations published in 2016.

Even if he never achieved the popularity of his charismatic predecessor John Paul II, Benedict XVI is a highly respected figure in the Catholic world, especially for his qualities as a brilliant theologian. Most Italian dailies carried the pope’s call to pray for him on their front pages on Thursday, and Corriere della Serra illustrated it on the front page with a photo of the former pope whispering in Francis’s ear.

In Benedict XVI’s home region of Bavaria, his health caused a stir among Catholics, particularly in Regensburg, the medieval city where he lived for several years. “Here everyone is very attached to Benedict XVI,” Siegfried Hofer, 53, told AFP. We feel special grief when we know that the Pope of Regensburg is dying.”

As head of the Catholic Church, he defended the conservative line, especially on abortion, homosexuality, and euthanasia. His statements have sometimes shocked, such as about Islam, the use of condoms against HIV, or the excommunication of four fundamentalist bishops in 2009.

His pontificate in 2012 was also marked by a leak of confidential documents (“Vatileaks”) orchestrated by his butler. The scandal exposed the Roman curia (government of the Vatican), suffering from intrigue and lack of financial austerity.