Ex-Pope Benedict XVI in 'steady state', Vatican says

MISE À DAY

The 95-year-old ex-Pope Benedict XVI, whose health has deteriorated in recent days, is in “stationary” condition, the Vatican said on Friday.&nbsp ;

“Currently, his condition is stationary,” Vatican press service chief Matteo Bruni said in a brief statement. “Last night the pope emeritus was able to rest well. And yesterday (Thursday) afternoon he participated in the celebration of Mass in his room,” he added.

Pope Francis announced on Wednesday that his predecessor was “seriously ill” and that he was praying for the one whose resignation in 2013 for health reasons took the world by surprise. A mass for him is to be celebrated late Friday afternoon at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran in Rome.

“His health deteriorated there. about three days. It is his vital functions that are failing, including the heart,” a Vatican source told AFP, adding that no hospitalization was planned, the residence of Benedict XVI having the necessary medical equipment.

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Francis himself visited Benedict XVI on Wednesday at the Mater Ecclesiae monastery, the residence of the pope emeritus located in the heart of the Vatican gardens.

Joseph Ratzinger has appeared increasingly fragile in recent months, moving in a wheelchair, but continuing to receive visitors. Photos of his last visit received, dated December 1, show a frail and visibly weakened man.

In the last public video of Benedict XVI, released by the Vatican in August, we also see an emaciated man , equipped with a hearing aid, no longer able to speak, but still with a lively gaze.

Benedict XVI, whose eight-year pontificate (2005-2013) was marked by multiple crises, was caught up in early 2022 by the drama of pedocrime in the Church.

Challenged by a report in Germany on his management of sexual violence when he was Archbishop of Munich, he broke his silence to ask “forgiveness”, but assured never to have covered pedophile.