Seven years after his resignation, former Pope Joseph Ratzinger is "extremely fragile", according to an article in the German regional daily Passauer Neue Presse , which quotes a biographer of the former Pope, Peter Seewald. At 93, the man who took the name of Benedict XVI suffers from an infectious disease in his face.
Benedict XVI suffers from erysipelas in the face, an infectious disease characterized by a reddish swelling, which causes severe itching and severe pain, the newspaper said. “According to Seewald, the Pope Emeritus is now extremely fragile (…). His intellectual capacities and his memory are not affected, but his voice is barely audible, ”wrote the Passauer Neue Presse.
The only resignation in 600 years
Peter Seewald met Benedict XVI in Rome on Saturday to present his biography to him, according to the daily. "During this meeting, the Pope Emeritus, despite his illness, was optimistic and said that if his strength increased again, he might resume his pen," he added.
Benedict XVI visited his sick older brother Georg in Germany in June, marking his first trip outside Italy since his surprise resignation in 2013. Georg Ratzinger died two weeks later. The two brothers, both ordained priests on the same day in June 1951, were very close. The first pope to resign in nearly 600 years, Benedict XVI, who had cited health reasons, has led a retired life in a small Vatican monastery since his renunciation.
Benedict XVI bids farewell to the faithful this Wednesday, Place Saint-PierreWorld
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