The Vatican has confirmed that former Pope Benedict is very ill, saying that his health has “worsened in the last hours”.
The Vatican spokesperson said that this deterioration was due to his “advanced age” and added that Benedict was being constantly monitored by doctors.
Pope Francis asked for prayers for the former Pope on Wednesday morning, saying he is “very sick”.
Francis made the surprise appeal at the end of his general audience on Wednesday and gave no further details.
Benedict, who is 95-years-old, became the first pope in some 600 years to resign in 2013. He has been living in the Vatican since then.
Francis said on Wednesday: “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.”