Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is lucid, conscious and stable but his condition remains serious, the Vatican revealed this morning.
A statement from Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Pope Francis asked for continued prayers “to accompany him in these difficult hours.”
Benedict in 2013 became the first pope in 600 years to retire, and he chose to live out his retirement in seclusion in a converted monastery in the Vatican Gardens. Few had expected his retirement — now in its 10th year — to last longer than his eight-year reign as pope. Responding to that call, the diocese of Rome scheduled a special Mass in honor of Benedict on Friday at St. John Lateran, Benedict’s former basilica in his capacity as the bishop of Rome.
While St. Peter’s Square was mostly filled with visitors from abroad on Thursday — during peak Christmas tourist season — some Italians were out to pay their respects or at least offer a prayer. Francis had a seemingly routine day of audiences Thursday, meeting with his ambassador to Madagascar, the commander of the Swiss Guards and a fellow Jesuit.
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