Archbishop Georg Gänswein shares how the Pope Emeritus, who was vaccinated on Thursday morning, is going through these difficult times.
The Vatican News
This was Benedict XVI’s first Christmas without his brother Georg, although his presence was somehow felt, says Archbishop Georg Gänswein, the emeritus pope’s personal secretary. The archbishop, who also serves as prefect of the papal household, spoke to Vatican News on the day Joseph Ratzinger was vaccinated at the Mater Ecclesiae monastery in the Vatican.
“Benedict XVI’s brother, in this Christmas holiday – the first after his death – felt in a way: in fact, I listened to CDs several times, not just Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, but also concerts with Christmas carols, performed by Regensburger Domspatzen, the choir directed by Georg Ratzinger. Archbishop Gänswein added: “For Benedict, this absence is a wound that caused him pain during these holidays, but he also told me that he felt the comfort of the Lord, in the certainty that his brother is now living in His embrace.”
Pope Benedict Emeritus with his brother Georg Ratzinger (photo file)
The personal secretary of the Pope Emeritus also spoke about the way in which this period of pandemic is lived inside the Mater Ecclesiae monastery. “The daily organization has not changed much. The pace of the days remained the same, even though the number of visits was much lower. Benedict watches the news that reaches us on TV and shares our concern about the pandemic, what is happening in the world, many people who lose their lives because of the virus. There were people he knew who died at Covid-19. ”
After launching images of his meeting with Pope Francis and the new cardinals in November last year, Archbishop Gänswein confirms that Ratzinger is physically natural, but completely lucid: “Physically, he is very fragile and can only walk. little with walking frame. And his voice is weak. The time spent resting has increased, but we continue to go out every afternoon, despite the cold, to the Vatican Gardens. Every day I celebrate Mass and he concelebrates sitting down … We have prepared enlarged texts for his daily prayer, so that he can better follow the Mass of the hours and continue to eat together, as we have always done.