Catholic Church leaders from Germany, Britain, the United States and other countries urged the faithful on social media to join in prayers for Benedict, who served as pope for nearly eight years before retiring.
“This morning I received the news that there is great concern in Rome for the health of the pope emeritus. That is why we especially want to include him in our prayers,” German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, archbishop of Munich, told the faithful.
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, head of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, asked Italians to keep Benedict XVI in mind “in this moment of suffering and trial.”
Until a few weeks ago, those who had seen Benedict affirmed that his body was very fragile, but his mind was sharp.
One of the last known photographs of Benedict was taken on December 1, when he met with the winners of a prize for theologians that bears his name. He was sitting up and seemed unusually weak.
Since his resignation, Benedict has lived in a former convent inside the Vatican gardens, with his secretary, Archbishop Georg Ganswein, and some other collaborators and medical personnel.