Retired Pope Benedict XVI has mentioned he hopes to quickly be part of a beloved professor good friend in ‘the afterlife’.
Benedict, 94, penned a letter to a German priest on October 2, thanking him for letting him know of the passing of the Rev. Gerhard Winkler, a Cistercian priest and tutorial colleague of the previous Joseph Ratzinger.
‘Of all my colleagues and associates he was the closest to me,’ Benedict wrote, in accordance with the letter reproduced in German media.
‘Now he has reached the afterlife, the place many associates definitely await him. I hope I can be part of them quickly.’
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI seen above in 2014. Benedict, 94, penned a letter to a German priest on October 2, thanking him for letting him know of the passing of the Rev. Gerhard Winkler, a Cistercian priest and tutorial colleague of the previous Joseph Ratzinger
Pope Francis maintain fingers with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI as he pays him a go to on the Vatican in November 2020
Benedict turned the primary pope in 600 years to resign when he renounced the papacy in 2013, saying he did not have the power of physique and thoughts to information the Catholic Church.
All through the papacy of Pope Francis, Benedict has lived in a transformed monastery within the Vatican gardens, sometimes greeting guests and writing, however by and enormous maintaining to his vow to stay ‘hidden to the world.’
In recent times Benedict has been affected by erysipelas of the face, a virus that causes a facial rash, and episodes of extreme ache, turning into ‘extraordinarily frail’, experiences point out.
Catholic traditionalist Benedict, who was changed by the reformist Pope Francis, has stayed out of the general public eye since he resigned, citing well being causes.