The emeritus pope, Benedict XVI, has passed away at the age of 95 this Saturday, December 31 at 9:34 a.m., as reported by the Vatican Press Office and the Spanish Episcopal Conference.
“It is with regret that I announce that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died today at 9:34 a.m., in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery of the Vatican,” the director of the Vatican press office, Matteo Bruni, confirmed to accredited journalists.
“Further information will be provided as soon as possible,” he added in a brief press release.
The health conditions of the pope emeritus worsened last Wednesday, as Francis announced at the general audience, when he realized that he was “very ill.”
“I would like to ask all of you for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who is supporting the Church in silence: remember him, he is very sick, we ask the Lord to console him and support him in this testimony of love for the Church until the end. “, pointed out the Pontiff. Benedict XVI had worsened for a week, but the news, despite his advanced age, came as a surprise to everyone.
No one in the environment of the Pope emeritus imagined that his health conditions could worsen from one day to the next. In fact, Archbishop Gänswein, who has become his closest family in these 9 and a half years of spiritual retreat after taking a step alongside the leadership of the Church, was in Germany when Pope Francis revealed last Wednesday the progressive deterioration of Benedict XVI.
Benedict XVI died in his bedroom in the Mater Ecclesiae monastery, located within the Vatican walls, where he has resided since he resigned from the pontificate in 2013. Despite the seriousness of his situation, he was never transferred to any hospital, although the medical attention that he has received at all times by his medical team was constant.
Benedict XVI’s medical team decided not to transfer the pope emeritus to the Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital in Rome, a reference center for the pontiffs, where, for example, Pope Francis was hospitalized for colon surgery due to severe diverticulitis in July of the year. last. However, according to the German press, it would have been the Pope emeritus himself who would have expressed his desire not to be transferred to any clinic in case his health conditions worsened. However, this information was not confirmed at any time by the Vatican communication office.
