Pope Francis says former pope Benedict ‘very sick,’ asks for prayers

Former Pope Benedict XVI, a hero for conservative Catholics and who in 2013 became the first pope in 600 years to resign, is “very sick,” Pope Francis’ successor said Wednesday, asking members of the Catholic Church to pray for him.

Bishops from Europe, the United States and elsewhere urged the faithful to keep Benedict in their thoughts, after the Vatican followed Francis’ announcement with a statement saying Benedict had suffered a sudden illness.

“I want to ask for a special prayer for pope emeritus Benedict, who, in silence, supports the Church,” Francis said in a surprise announcement Wednesday made at the end of his weekly public audience.

“Let us remember him. He is very sick, asking God to comfort and encourage him in this testimony of love for the Church, until the end,” Francis said, speaking in Italian.

A Vatican statement said Benedict was receiving ongoing medical care and his condition was under control.

Francis, who visited the former pontiff after making the announcement, often praised Benedict, saying it was like having a grandfather at home. But the presence of two men dressed in white in the Vatican is sometimes a problem.

Conservatives have looked to the former pope as a standard bearer and some ultra-traditionalists even refuse to recognize Francis as the legitimate pope.

He criticized Francis for his friendlier approach to gays and Catholics who divorced and married outside the Church, saying both undermined traditional values.

Catholic Church leaders from Germany, Britain, the United States and elsewhere have called on the faithful on social media to pray for Benedict, the pope nearly eight years before his retirement.

“This morning I received news that there is great concern in Rome about the health of the pope emeritus. And we especially want to include him in our prayers,” German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich, told the congregation.

Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, head of the Italian bishops’ conference, asked Italians to keep Benedict in their thoughts “in this moment of suffering and trial.”

Until a few weeks ago, those who had seen Benedict said he was very fragile, but his mind was still sharp.

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Italian news reports said he suffered respiratory problems over Christmas.

The Vatican has not released any details on his condition. There was no immediate response to a request for comment from Benedict’s personal secretary.

One of the most recent known photos of Benedict was taken on December 1, when he met with the winners of the prize for theologians named after him. He sat down and looked very sad.

Since his resignation, Benedict has lived in a former monastery in the Vatican garden, with his secretary, Archbishop Georg Ganswein, and several assistants and other medical staff.

Benedict announced his intention to resign on February 11, 2013, shocking a meeting of cardinals. He said he no longer had the physical and mental strength to run the Church.

He officially resigned on February 28 that year, moving to the papal summer residence south of Rome as cardinals from around the world came to Rome to elect his successor.

Francis, the first Pope from Latin America, was elected to succeed him on March 13, 2013.

Benedict, the first German Pope in 1,000 years, was elected on April 19, 2005, to succeed the popular Pope John Paul II, who ruled for 27 years.

The cardinal has chosen Benedict from among the number who are looking for continuity and what he calls “a safe pair of hands.”

For nearly 25 years, as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, he headed the Vatican’s doctrinal office, later known as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF).