section_path: Papacy: 2005–2013/Health
section_name: Health
paragraph_text: Health
  
  Before his election as pope, Ratzinger had hoped to retire – on account of age-related health problems, a long-held desire to have free time to write, and the retirement age for bishops (75) – and submitted his resignation as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith three times, but continued at his post in obedience to the wishes of John Paul II. In September 1991, Ratzinger suffered a haemorrhagic stroke, which slightly impaired his eyesight temporarily but from which he recovered completely. This was never officially made public – the official news was that he had fallen and struck his head against a radiator – but was an open secret known to the conclave that elected him pope.
  
  After his election in April 2005 there were several rumours about the Pope's health, but none of them were confirmed. Early in his pontificate Benedict predicted a short reign, which led to concerns about his health. In May 2005 the Vatican announced that he had suffered another mild stroke. French cardinal Philippe Barbarin said that since the first stroke Ratzinger had been suffering from an age-related heart condition, for which he was on medication. In late November 2006 Vatican insiders told the international press that the Pope had had a routine examination of the heart. A few days later an unconfirmed rumour emerged that Benedict had undergone an operation in preparation for an eventual bypass operation, but this rumour was only published by a small left-wing Italian newspaper and was never confirmed by any Vatican insider.
  
  On 17 July 2009, Benedict was hospitalized after falling and breaking his right wrist while on vacation in the Alps; his injuries were reported to be minor.
  
  Peter Seewald, Benedict's biographer, stated in 2023 that Benedict had been suffering from persistent insomnia since the 2005 World Youth Day in Cologne. A March 2012 incident in Mexico forced the Pope to cut back on sleeping pills and necessitated that he only appear in public in the morning. According to Seewald, Benedict revealed shortly before his death that these restrictions had been untenable and were the "central motive" for the decision to resign prior to his next major foreign trip, World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro in July 2013.
  
  Following the announcement of his resignation, the Vatican revealed that Benedict had been fitted with a pacemaker while he was still a cardinal, before his election as pope in 2005. The battery in the pacemaker had been replaced three months earlier, a routine procedure, but that did not influence his decision.
  
  Before his election as pope, Ratzinger had hoped to retire – on account of age-related health problems, a long-held desire to have free time to write, and the retirement age for bishops (75) – and submitted his resignation as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith three times, but continued at his post in obedience to the wishes of John Paul II. In September 1991, Ratzinger suffered a haemorrhagic stroke, which slightly impaired his eyesight temporarily but from which he recovered completely. This was never officially made public – the official news was that he had fallen and struck his head against a radiator – but was an open secret known to the conclave that elected him pope.
  
  After his election in April 2005 there were several rumours about the Pope's health, but none of them were confirmed. Early in his pontificate Benedict predicted a short reign, which led to concerns about his health. In May 2005 the Vatican announced that he had suffered another mild stroke. French cardinal Philippe Barbarin said that since the first stroke Ratzinger had been suffering from an age-related heart condition, for which he was on medication. In late November 2006 Vatican insiders told the international press that the Pope had had a routine examination of the heart. A few days later an unconfirmed rumour emerged that Benedict had undergone an operation in preparation for an eventual bypass operation, but this rumour was only published by a small left-wing Italian newspaper and was never confirmed by any Vatican insider.
  
  On 17 July 2009, Benedict was hospitalized after falling and breaking his right wrist while on vacation in the Alps; his injuries were reported to be minor.
  
  Peter Seewald, Benedict's biographer, stated in 2023 that Benedict had been suffering from persistent insomnia since the 2005 World Youth Day in Cologne. A March 2012 incident in Mexico forced the Pope to cut back on sleeping pills and necessitated that he only appear in public in the morning. According to Seewald, Benedict revealed shortly before his death that these restrictions had been untenable and were the "central motive" for the decision to resign prior to his next major foreign trip, World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro in July 2013.
  
  Following the announcement of his resignation, the Vatican revealed that Benedict had been fitted with a pacemaker while he was still a cardinal, before his election as pope in 2005. The battery in the pacemaker had been replaced three months earlier, a routine procedure, but that did not influence his decision.