Yahoo – AFP, Catherine MARCIANO, September 4, 2020
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| Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is now officially the oldest pope in history |
At the age of 93 and nearly five months, Benedict XVI
officially became the oldest pope in history on Friday, even if the record is
complicated by the fact that he stepped down in 2013 and holds the status of
"pope emeritus".
Benedict was the first pope to retire in 700 years --
citing his diminishing strength -- after eight years in office.
He was succeeded by Argentinian Jorge Bergoglio, 10
years his junior and who adopted the name Francis.
Born on April 16, 1927, Benedict -- whose civilian
name is Josef Ratzinger -- officially broke the previous longevity record held
by Italian Leo XIII who died in 1903 at the age of 93 years, four months and
three days, according to the calculations of the Italian episcopal journal,
Avvenire, and the magazine Famiglia Cristiana.
"34,111 days in the service of God, the world and
the ecclesiastical community," wrote Famiglia Cristiana, referring to
Benedict.
Aside from Benedict's retired status, Vatican experts
say the record could also be disputed because, going back 1,400 years, the ages
of previous popes may not always be completely accurate.
The previous record holder, Leo XIII, is known for
having written the first encyclical on social problems.
Unlike Benedict's relatively short reign as pontiff,
the Italian aristocrat led the church for more than 25 years. By comparison,
Pius XI was pope for 31 years and John Paul II for 26 years.
And the first-ever pope, Peter, reigned for at least
34 years, said French historian, Christophe Dickes.
Benedict lives "hidden from the world" in a
former convent inside the Vatican grounds.
Often in a wheelchair, he has appeared increasingly
frail recently.
But the author of dozens of books, who was nicknamed
"God's Rottweiler" as a cardinal, is still mentally sharp, according
to people close to him.
Despite his limited mobility, Benedict travelled to
his native Bavaria in June to the bedside of his 96-year-old brother, Georg.
The two were very close and Georg died on July 1. Both
had been ordained priests on the same day, in June 1951.
Face shingles
On that visit, his first foreign trip since stepping
down, Benedict started suffering a painful case of shingles affecting the face,
which worsened after the death of his brother.
His private secretary, Georg Gaenswein told a German
newspaper last month that the shingles were clearing up, although no official
statement has since been issued about Benedict's health.
Shingles are "a very painful disease, but not
deadly," Gaenswein said, adding that the former pope had suffered
"pain that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy".
The virus that causes the rash is the same herpes
zoster behind chickenpox, and can reactivate after long periods spent dormant.
Benedict's German biographer, journalist Peter
Seewald, had raised the alarm about the former pope's health after meeting him
on August 1 to hand over his latest book.
"According to Seewald, the pope emeritus is now
extremely frail," the Passauer Neue Presse newspaper wrote at the time.
Benedict has lived with a pacemaker since 1997, while
a brain haemorrhage in 1991 left him blind in his left eye.
The former theology professor, who taught for 25 years
before being appointed Archbishop of Munich, went on to become the man in
charge of preserving Catholic doctrine by defending points of Christian
tradition which seem to be in danger.
On the death of John Paul II in 2005, Cardinal Joseph
Ratzinger was elected the 265th pontiff, becoming Benedict XVI.
