HONG KONG (SE): Responding to the appeal of Pope Francis, people around the globe are praying for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Vatican News reported on December 29. The 95-year-old has been suffering from ill health recently.
“I would like to ask you all for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict, who in silence is supporting the Church. 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 end,” Pope Francis said on December 28.
Christians, as well as non-Christians, responded in droves to Pope Francis’ request for prayers.
AsiaNews reported that Charles Cardinal Bo, archbishop of Yangon and president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences, urged the faithful to “pray for this holy man, whose witness even today continues to bless the Church.”
Cardinal Bo said, “His contribution to Vatican Council II, his strong support of the mission of St. John Paul II and his intellectual acumen are memorable contributions to the Church today. He remained faithful to the tradition and teachings of the Church. May the protection of or Mother Mary continue to heal him and bless him with greater health.”
Blase Cardinal Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, tweeted his spiritual support and urged everyone to ask “for the Lord’s grace to help sustain Pope Benedict as he has sustained the Church through his silent witness.” Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, issued a similar statement and invitation, expressing “great faith in God’s goodness.”
The Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Cardinal Nichols, added his voice, praying that God might “sustain and console him at this time,” Vatican News reported.
Catholics in Ukraine also joined in the spiritual chorus for the Pope Benedict, after Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk urged the Synod and all the faithful of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church to pray.
“The whole Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church wants to unite in prayer around this great witness of our times, thanking him for his silent witness as Pope Emeritus and at the same time remembering and seeking to put into practice his work for the unity of the Church, which was an extraordinary feature of his pontificate.”
Major Archbishop Shevchuk met recently with the former pope at his residence in the Vatican’s Mater Ecclesiae Monastery on November 10. He recounted that he was “incredibly lucid, informed and
solicitous about the situation in Ukraine, and had assured his prayers for the Ukrainian people.”
The Chief Rabbi of the Jewish community of Rome, Riccardo Di Segni, also tweeted his prayerful support for Benedict, saying, “Concerned about the news about the health of Pope Emeritus Benedict, I join in prayers that he may overcome the ordeal and recover soon.”
The president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, Matteo Cardinal Zuppi, urged Italians to “gather around the Pope Emeritus” in prayer at this trying time.
Vatican News reported Matteo Bruni, , director of the Holy See Press Office, as saying that Pope Benedict had rested well overnight.
“He is absolutely lucid and alert. Today, although his condition remains serious, the situation remains stable at the moment,” he said. “Pope Francis renews his invitation to pray for him and accompany him in these difficult hours.”
