Good news from Rome: The serious viral disease that Pope emeritus Benedict XVI. has been suffering for weeks, is subsiding.
The good news from Rome brought Georg Gänswein (64), the private secretary of the former Pope Benedict XVI. (93), in person. Gänswein explained to the "Südkurier" that his 93-year-old superior was on the mend.
Benedict, who suffered from a painful facial rose, should have taken medicines that would have made him very weak. But the medication has been reduced for a few days, said Gänswein.
The virus infection broke out in mid-June after the former Pope had visited his brother Georg Ratzinger (1924-2020) to say goodbye on his deathbed. After the visit, the pain began, said Gänswein, "This is pain that I did not wish for my worst enemy."
The former Pope made his will
The so-called face rose primarily affected the right half of the face of the former head of the Roman Catholic Church. It causes a blistering rash and can cause meningitis or spinal cord inflammation.
The herpes viruses responsible for the disease are not fatal, the private secretary made it clear. Benedict XVI had his will. Already made in 2006 as a precaution: "How long God will keep him alive, none of us knows", said the Archbishop.