On Thursday at 2:30 PM Rome time, the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, issued the following statement in response to journalists' questions about the health of Benedict XVI:
"The Pope Emeritus was able to rest well last night. He is absolutely lucid and alert, and today, although his condition remains serious, the situation is for the moment stable. Pope Francis renews his invitation to pray for him and to accompany him in these difficult hours."
Sources close to the Mater Ecclesiae monastery where Benedict XVI lives told the Register on Thursday that the Pope Emeritus's condition was very grave last evening and the consensus was that he might not survive more than a few days, but that his health stabilized during the night, as confirmed by the Vatican's statement.
This recent statement follows Pope Francis's revelation of his health condition during the General Audience on Wednesday morning:
"I would like to ask all of you for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict, who is silently supporting the Church," said Francis.
"Remember him—he is very ill—asking the Lord to console him and sustain him in this witness of love for the Church, until the very end."
The Vatican stated that after the audience, Francis visited Benedict XVI at his residence in the Mater Ecclesiae monastery in the Vatican.
In recent years, Benedict XVI has become visibly very frail, immobile, and unable to speak clearly, but Archbishop Gänswein and various visitors have testified to his mental acuity and relative good health.
Earlier this month, Pope Francis praised the Pope Emeritus, stating that "we all feel his spiritual presence, his accompaniment in prayer for the entire Church, and his constant contemplative gaze."
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Pope Francis was presenting the Ratzinger Prize to French Jesuit theologian Michel Fédou and Jewish law professor Joseph Weiler. Benedict XVI was not present at the ceremony but received the laureates at his residence.
This article was originally published by National Catholic Register (Article Link). It is republished and translated with the author's permission.