Pope Francis Requests 'Special Prayer' for 'Very Sick' Predecessor Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Francis is asking for prayers for his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI after the Vatican said on Wednesday that the 95-year-old former pontiff's health had "worsened."

"I can confirm that in the last few hours his condition worsened due to age," Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said, per NBC News. "The situation at present is under control, monitored constantly by doctors."

At the end of his general audience on Wednesday, Francis offered a "surprise" statement regarding the ailing Benedict, according to Reuters.

L'Osservatore Romano - Vatican Pool via Getty Pope Benedict XVI

"I would like to ask all of you for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict, who, in silence, is sustaining the Church," the Pope said. "He is very sick, asking the Lord to console and sustain him in this witness of love for the Church, until the end."

Francis later visited the former Pope, who resides in a monastery on the Vatican's grounds, per Reuters.

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Massimo Valicchia/NurPhoto via Getty Pope Francis

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In 2013, Benedict became the first modern-day Pope to step down, citing his advancing age and frail health.

The former Pope appeared weak in an image taken on Dec. 1 when he met with winners of a theological prize named after him, but those close said his mind was still "sharp," Reuters reported.

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Earlier this month, Pope Francis, who turned 86 on Dec. 17, told a Spanish newspaper that he penned his own resignation letter around a decade ago in case he experienced sudden ill health or incapacitation, ABC News reported.

"I have already signed my renunciation," Francis told the outlet. "I signed it and said: 'If I should become impaired for medical reasons or whatever, here is my resignation. Here you have it.'"