While a sixth of the earth's landmass chops its salads, in the first Rome they pray on bended knee for Pope Benedict XVI and keep the windows open, lest the tolling of bells announce the pontiff's death

On 28 December the Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni announced a rapid deterioration in the condition of the Pope Emeritus, owing to his venerable years, of course.

Francis I, who visited Benedict on the morning of the 28th, asked for prayers for him in his hour of great weakness, beseeching God to console and sustain the Pope Emeritus in his witness of love for the Church to the very end. The 95-year-old Pope Benedict XVI is under constant medical supervision.

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September digest: archaeological finds, exhibitions, museums, theatre and the Church

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While a sixth of the earth's landmass chops its salads, in the first Rome they pray on bended knee for Pope Benedict XVI and keep the windows open, lest the tolling of bells announce the pontiff's death

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September digest: archaeological finds, exhibitions, museums, theatre and the Church

Frederic Leighton

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