The German press: “Benedict XVI more fragile and sick after the death of his brother Georg”
According to the German newspaper Passauer Neue Presse, “Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is going through an extremely fragile moment for his health”. The revelation comes from Peter Seewald, journalist and writer considered the biographer of Joseph Ratzinger who, at the age of 93, suffers from erysipelas of the face, an infectious skin disease that would have worsened upon his return, last June, from Regensburg, where he had gone. to find his brother, Monsignor Georg.
“The Pope emeritus Benedict XVI is going through an extremely fragile moment for his health. “The indiscretion comes directly from the German press, which in turn cites Peter Seewald, journalist and writer considered the biographer of Joseph Ratzinger. According to reports from the newspaper from the newspaper Passau New Press“le intellectual abilities of the Pontiff and his memory they are not affected, but his voce is barely noticeable. “Ratzinger, 93, suffers from erysipelas of the face, an infectious skin disease that would be worsened on his return, last June, from Regensburg, where he had gone to visit his brother, Monsignor Georg, before he died. Seewald said he had met Ratzinger on Saturday at the Vatican, who, despite his conditions, would have shown himself during the meeting optimistic, adding that if his strength had improved, he could have resumed writing. “Also according to the newspaper, the Pope Emeritus would have also already decided the place where he will rest after his death, namely in the former tomb of St. John Paul II, the predecessor to which he was very attached, in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Seewald and Benedict XVI jointly published four books of interviews that have sold around three million copies worldwide and there biography written by the journalist is the most complete and detailed of the German pope. On Saturday there was the presentation of the book “Mater Ecclesiae” in the Vatican Gardens, also attended by Archbishop Georg Gànswein, Benedict’s private secretary and prefect of the papal house. Ratzinger last June 18 had wanted to make the journey by plane to reach Regensburg and to give the last farewell to his brother Georg, seriously ill, who then died at the age of 96 on July 1st. Not being able to be present at the funeral, he sent a message that was read during the celebration, in tears, by Monsignor Georg Georg Gänswein: “At this hour of my last farewell to my brother, I am with you”. During the last days in Germany, Benedict XVI was also able to review the places dear to his family, in particular the Ziegetsdorf cemetery, where the parents and older sister rest. Then, after returning to the Vatican, his health conditions worsened.
