Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI.
In its most recent update on Pope Emeritus Benedict's health, the Vatican stated that the former Pope's condition is still "grave" but stable. Pope Francis had earlier said that the former Pope is "very ill."
Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni said, “The Pope Emeritus managed to rest well during the night, he is lucid and aware, and today, even though his condition remains grave, the situation is at the moment stable.”
Previously, the Vatican said that Pope Benedict's declining health was brought on by his "advanced age," adding that he was under close medical observation.
On Wednesday, Pope Francis said: “I would like to ask all of you for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict, who, in silence, is sustaining the Church. Let us remember him.
“He is very sick, asking the Lord to console and sustain him in this witness of love for the Church, until the end.”
The latest update, however, did not provide any details regarding Benedict's condition, but Pope Francis repeated a call for prayer to "accompany" Benedict "in these difficult hours."
In 2013, 95-year-old Benedict resigned as the Pope, breaking a 600-year tradition. Since that time, he has been residing in the Vatican.
Image:The Independent.
Pope Emeritus' declining health presents difficult decisions for the Vatican.
The Catholic Church has precise procedures in place when one of its leaders passes, but as former Pope Benedict's health deteriorates, it is unclear if those same procedures will apply to a Pope who has retired and is known as an Emeritus.
As the first Pope to step down in 600 years, Benedict XVI made history in 2013 when he announced his resignation due to old age. The German cardinal, born Joseph Ratzinger, who chose to use the name Benedict, was chosen in April 2005.
As Benedict's residence is in the Mater Ecclesiae monastery's Vatican Gardens, close to the residence of Pope Francis and he occasionally appeared alongside his successor, there have effectively been two Popes residing close to each other in the Vatican for almost ten years.
"We've never had this before where a living Pope will help bury a dead Pope," Catholic historian John McGreevy said.
Even the Middle Ages cannot serve as a model because Gregory XII's resignation in 1415 was intended to bring to end years of strife between opposing candidates for the papacy.
It is the custom that when a Pope passes, his passing is confirmed and foreign heads of state are informally notified before Vatican radio announces the news.
The person who takes charge of the Vatican from the death of one Pope to the election of another is called a "camerlengo."
Cardinal Kevin Farrell is the current "camerlengo." Certain cardinal duties, though, might no longer be proper now that Benedict is not the Pope.
The camerlengo typically performs the official confirmation of the Pope's passing by tapping his head three times with a tiny silver hammer and calling out his name. Additionally, he would be in charge of shutting the papal apartments, destroying the Pope's fisherman's ring, planning the burial, and convening a conclave to elect a successor.
There is a lot of uncertainty over what the camerlengo will do because Francis is already the Pope.
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, is normally in charge of presiding at a papal burial. But in this instance, it is anticipated that Pope Francis will preside over the funeral. The St. Peter's Basilica or the square in front of it is the traditional location for the ceremony.
The Pope is then interred in the grotto beneath the basilica.
Each Pope is free to define their funeral preparations, and although Benedict's family is buried in Germany, his biographer, Peter Seewald, stated that he wished to be buried in the tomb that belonged to John Paul II before he was canonized and moved elsewhere in the Vatican.
A new Pope will not be elected, which is the most important ceremony that occurs after a Pope dies.
But because the Catholic Church has not made any public announcements, it is unclear exactly what procedures the Vatican will follow.
Massimo Franco, a writer on Vatican matters, told the BBC that all the procedures would need to be "written from scratch" and that since Benedict's resignation in 2013, the Catholic Church did not specify what would be done in the event of his transition.
He also warned that Benedict's possible death would have unintended effects on the Pope, such as normalizing a Pope's resignation.
"For some within the Catholic Church, the resignation of Benedict represents a unique circumstance that will never have to be repeated.
"For others, it may represent a precedent and therefore could be repeated. But this remains a big question mark, just like everything surrounding the death and funeral of Benedict XVI."
Given that Benedict previously served as the head of state of Vatican City, an independent city-state bordered by Rome and presided over by the Pope, it is possible that a state funeral will be held, with the participation of foreign heads of state, but even that has not been done before.
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