Pope’s last words recorded by bedside nurse
Former Pope Benedict XVI has died at the age of 95, the Vatican announced Saturday, nearly a decade after he became the first pope to resign in six centuries. According to his bedside nurse, the pope’s last words were recorded.
Archbishop Georg Ganswein, Benedict’s personal secretary, told Vatican News, “It was just a whisper, but in a clearly recognizable way, [Benedict] Said in Italian, “Lord, I love you!” I wasn’t there, but the nurse told me about it shortly after. “
Mr Ganswin added: “It was the last words he could understand because after that, he couldn’t express himself anymore.”
Since his shock decision to resign in February 2013, Germany’s emeritus pope, whose real name is Joseph Ratzinger, has lived a quiet life in a former monastery in the Vatican, according to Agence France-Presse.
His long-declining health worsened Wednesday as his successor, Pope Francis, called on Catholics around the world to pray for him, Vatican News reported.
Thousands of people paid their respects to former Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican on Monday, beginning a three-day bed rest in St. Peter’s Basilica ahead of his funeral.
They began queuing before dawn to wait for the body of the German theologian, who died Saturday at the age of 95, from the Vatican monastery in the early morning.
“I arrived at 6:00 in the morning, and it seemed normal to come and pay tribute to him after all he had done for the church,” said Sister Anna Maria, an Italian nun, near the last of the procession that snaked around the sprawling Notre Dame. Front. Peter Square.
Benedict led the Catholic Church for eight years until 2013 before becoming the first pope in six centuries to resign due to declining health.
His successor, Pope Francis, will preside over the funeral in St. Peter’s Square on Thursday before laying Benedict’s body in a tomb below the cathedral.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Monday that he will be buried in the tomb that holds the remains of Pope John Paul II until 2011.
Benedict’s body, dressed in the pope’s red mourning clothes and gold-rimmed miter, rested on a golden cloth bier in front of the altar in St. Peter’s Basilica, flanked by two Swiss guards.
Many past applicants took pictures with their smartphones, while some prayed or made the cross.
Featured Video of the Day
‘PCR system was dismantled and it cost us’: Kiran Bedi on Delhi car terror
