The health of the emeritus pope is not good, for the Catholic Church these are worried days with medical bulletins and breaking news about the condition of the 95-year-old. Georg Gänswein, Benedict XVI’s private secretary, was brought back from vacation. He went to Bavaria for a few days after the Christmas mass, and now he’s back in Rome.
In recent years, Gänswein has often had to answer the question of how “Benedetto” is doing. Benedict XVI has lived in seclusion in the “Mater Ecclesiae” monastery in the Vatican Gardens behind St. Peter’s Basilica since his abdication in 2013, alongside four sisters, an assistant from the Vatican Health Service and his secretary. Gänswein then said that Benedikt was fragile but lucid. He dedicates himself to reading, music, prayer. “He is a candle that goes out slowly and gently.”
Hearing how Pope Francis asked the faithful at the recent audience to pray for the “very ill” Benedict, one comes to the conclusion that the moment of extinction seems to be near. At Christmas, the Pope Emeritus had trouble breathing, and that is said to be just one of many old age problems. The last public photo is from early December, sitting in a beige armchair, marked by age.
Many cardinals declare Benedict XVI. her closeness
The Italian newspapers, which always treat popes like dear compatriots, regardless of their nationality, already hint at early appreciation in their reports on this late retirement. “The Long Farewell”, title Il Foglio. La Stampa sees the German ex-Pope on the “Way of the Cross”. The news quickly went viral on social media.
Many cardinals feel the need, Benedict XVI. to express their closeness during their lifetime. There are also those who had different church-political opinions than the conservative Joseph Ratzinger from Marktl am Inn. Some fired up the supposed or actual contradiction between the former and the incumbent pope at times just as actively as the paladins of German did. Exactly how, that may be explored at some point.
Massimo Franco has authored several books on the Vatican. The journalist of Corriere della Sera now writes that the style of a “complementary and alternative pontificate” was lived in the Mater Ecclesiae monastery. At least that’s how opponents of Pope Francis see it. They would have often exploited this unique constellation – a retired and an incumbent Pope in the Vatican – behind the Leonine Walls to split the camps. “The man in the monastery was an unwieldy presence, not only because of his infrequent statements, but also because of his silence.” But in the end all animosities, real and fictitious, fade away.
Francis would find it easier to resign himself after Benedict’s death
Outwardly, the two men in white never showed any sign of personal altercations themselves. The Argentine also called his predecessor a “Santo”, a saint, and a “grandfather”. Francis is only nine years younger. The publicist Franco suspects that the incumbent Pope may be tempted after the death of Benedict XVI. to resign yourself. At least the decision would be easier for him.
Just recently, the Argentine said in an interview that at the beginning of his pontificate he signed a letter of waiver in case he was too ill to meet the demands of the office. His knee problems have tied him to a wheelchair for a while, and the general anesthetic for an intestinal operation has taken its toll. There have been rumors that Francis might resign. But two retired popes at the same time? That would probably be too much.
The question of how the burial of an emeritus pope could take place is now being negotiated in Rome. Presumably there is already an exact protocol for this, but nothing has become known – for reasons of piety. Benedict’s predecessor, John Paul II – Pope from 1978 to 2005 and a favorite of the Romans – lay in state in St. Peter’s Basilica for nine days so that the masses could give him a proper farewell. They did it quietly and patiently, waiting in line for hours. It will be nine days for Benedict XVI. probably won’t. But the Italian Vatican experts assume that the people of the faithful can say goodbye to the “Papa tedesco” for a few days.
It used to be said that Joseph Ratzinger wanted to be buried at home in Bavaria. But his final resting place will probably be where popes rest, in the center of the center of the Catholic Church – in the Vatican Grottoes under St. Peter’s Basilica. A tomb has been vacant in the crypt since John Paul II was canonized and moved to a side chapel of the church. The space that has become free is intended for Benedict. When its flame is gone.