section_path: Pope emeritus: 2013–2022
section_name: Pope emeritus: 2013–2022
paragraph_text: Pope emeritus: 2013–2022
  
  On the morning of 28 February 2013, Benedict met with the full College of Cardinals and in the early afternoon flew by helicopter to the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo. He stayed there until refurbishment was completed on his retirement home, the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican Gardens near St. Peter's, former home of twelve nuns, where he moved on 2 May 2013.
  
  After his resignation, Benedict retained his papal name rather than reverting to his birth name. He continued to wear the white cassock but without the pellegrina or the fascia. He ceased wearing red papal shoes. Benedict returned his official Fisherman's Ring, which was rendered unusable by two large cuts across its face.
  
  According to a Vatican spokesman, Benedict spent his first day as Pope emeritus with Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Prefect of the Papal Household. In the monastery, the pope emeritus did not live a cloistered life, but studied and wrote. He joined Pope Francis several months later at the unveiling of a new statue of Saint Michael the Archangel. The inscription on the statue, according to Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, has the coat of arms of the two popes to symbolize the fact that the statue was commissioned by Benedict and consecrated by Francis.
  
  In 2013 it was reported that Benedict had multiple health problems including high blood pressure and had fallen out of bed more than once, but the Holy See denied any specific illnesses. The former pope made his first public appearance after his resignation at St. Peter's Basilica on 22 February 2014 to attend the first papal consistory of his successor Francis. Benedict entered the basilica through a discreet entrance and was seated in a row with several other cardinals. He doffed his zucchetto when Francis came down the nave of St. Peter's Basilica to greet him. He then made an appearance at the canonization mass of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II, greeting the cardinals and Francis.
  
  In August 2014, Benedict celebrated Mass at the Vatican and met with his former doctoral students, an annual tradition he had kept since the 1970s. He attended the beatification of Pope Paul VI in October 2014. Weeks before this, he joined Francis in Saint Peter's Square for an audience with grandparents to honour their importance in society.
  
  Benedict wrote the text of a speech, delivered by Archbishop Georg Gänswein, on the occasion of the dedication of the Aula Magna at the Pontifical Urbaniana University to the pope emeritus, "a gesture of gratitude for what he has done for the Church as a conciliar expert, with his teaching as professor, as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and, finally, the Magisterium." The ceremony took place on Tuesday, 21 October 2014, during the opening of the academic year.
  
  Benedict attended the consistory for new cardinals in February 2015, greeting Francis at the beginning of the celebration. In the summer of 2015, Benedict spent two weeks at Castel Gandolfo, at the invitation of Pope Francis. While at Castel Gandolfo, Benedict participated in two public events. He received two honorary doctorates given to him by Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, Pope John Paul II's longtime aide, from the Pontifical University of John Paul II and the Kraków Academy of Music. In his reception address, Benedict paid homage to his predecessor, John Paul II.
  
  The Joseph Ratzinger–Benedict XVI Roman Library at the Pontifical Teutonic College was announced in April 2015 and was scheduled to open to scholars in November 2015. The library section dedicated to his life and thought is being catalogued. It includes books by or about him and his studies, many donated by Benedict himself.
  
  Benedict, in August 2015, submitted a handwritten card to act as a testimony to the cause of canonization of Pope John Paul I.
  
  In March 2016, Benedict gave an interview expressing his views on mercy and endorsing Francis's stress on mercy in his pastoral practice. Also that month, a Vatican spokesman stated that Benedict was "slowly, serenely fading" in his physical health, although his mental capacity remained "perfectly lucid".
  
  The pope emeritus was honoured by the Roman Curia and Francis in 2016 at a special audience, honouring the 65th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. That November, he did not attend the consistory for new cardinals, rather meeting with them and Francis at his residence afterward. Following the death of Cardinal Paulo Evaristo Arns in December 2016, Benedict became the last living person appointed cardinal by Pope Paul VI.
  
  In June 2017, Benedict received newly created cardinals in his chapel and spoke with each of them in their native language. In July 2017, he sent a message through his private secretary for the funeral of Cardinal Joachim Meisner, who had suddenly died while on vacation in Germany.
  
  In November 2017, images emerged on the Facebook page of the Bishop of Passau, Stefan Oster, of Benedict with a black eye; the bishop and author Peter Seewald visited the former pope on 26 October since the pair were presenting Benedict with the new book Benedict XVI – The German Pope which the Passau diocese created. The former pope suffered the hematoma earlier after having slipped.
  
  Benedict was portrayed by Anthony Hopkins in the biographical film The Two Popes, which came out in 2019. In late 2019, Benedict collaborated on a book expressing that the Catholic Church must maintain its discipline of clerical celibacy, in light of ongoing debate on the issue, though later requested his name to be removed from the book as co-author.
  
  In June 2020, Benedict visited his dying brother Georg in Germany for the last time. Georg died on 1 July, aged 96.
  
  On 3 August 2020, Benedict's aides disclosed that he had an inflammation of the trigeminal nerve. On 2 December of the same year, Maltese cardinal Mario Grech announced to Vatican News that Benedict had difficulty speaking and that he had told the new cardinals after the consistory that "the Lord has taken away my speech in order to let me appreciate silence".
  
  Benedict became the longest-lived pope whose age can be verified on 4 September 2020, at 93 years, 141 days, surpassing the age of Pope Leo XIII. There are two popes who are claimed to have lived longer than Benedict: Pope St Agatho (574–681), who died aged 107; and Pope Gregory IX (1145–1241), who died aged 96. However, although there is some contemporary documentation attesting to their ages, there is not sufficient evidence for them to be verified with complete certainty.
  
  In January 2021, Benedict and Francis each received doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. On 29 June 2021, the pope emeritus celebrated his platinum jubilee (70th anniversary) as a priest.
  
  Following the consistory of 27 August 2022, Francis and the newly created cardinals paid a brief visit to Benedict at Mater Ecclesiae Monastery.
  
  On the morning of 28 February 2013, Benedict met with the full College of Cardinals and in the early afternoon flew by helicopter to the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo. He stayed there until refurbishment was completed on his retirement home, the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican Gardens near St. Peter's, former home of twelve nuns, where he moved on 2 May 2013.
  
  After his resignation, Benedict retained his papal name rather than reverting to his birth name. He continued to wear the white cassock but without the pellegrina or the fascia. He ceased wearing red papal shoes. Benedict returned his official Fisherman's Ring, which was rendered unusable by two large cuts across its face.
  
  According to a Vatican spokesman, Benedict spent his first day as Pope emeritus with Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Prefect of the Papal Household. In the monastery, the pope emeritus did not live a cloistered life, but studied and wrote. He joined Pope Francis several months later at the unveiling of a new statue of Saint Michael the Archangel. The inscription on the statue, according to Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, has the coat of arms of the two popes to symbolize the fact that the statue was commissioned by Benedict and consecrated by Francis.
  
  In 2013 it was reported that Benedict had multiple health problems including high blood pressure and had fallen out of bed more than once, but the Holy See denied any specific illnesses. The former pope made his first public appearance after his resignation at St. Peter's Basilica on 22 February 2014 to attend the first papal consistory of his successor Francis. Benedict entered the basilica through a discreet entrance and was seated in a row with several other cardinals. He doffed his zucchetto when Francis came down the nave of St. Peter's Basilica to greet him. He then made an appearance at the canonization mass of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II, greeting the cardinals and Francis.
  
  In August 2014, Benedict celebrated Mass at the Vatican and met with his former doctoral students, an annual tradition he had kept since the 1970s. He attended the beatification of Pope Paul VI in October 2014. Weeks before this, he joined Francis in Saint Peter's Square for an audience with grandparents to honour their importance in society.
  
  Benedict wrote the text of a speech, delivered by Archbishop Georg Gänswein, on the occasion of the dedication of the Aula Magna at the Pontifical Urbaniana University to the pope emeritus, "a gesture of gratitude for what he has done for the Church as a conciliar expert, with his teaching as professor, as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and, finally, the Magisterium." The ceremony took place on Tuesday, 21 October 2014, during the opening of the academic year.
  
  Benedict attended the consistory for new cardinals in February 2015, greeting Francis at the beginning of the celebration. In the summer of 2015, Benedict spent two weeks at Castel Gandolfo, at the invitation of Pope Francis. While at Castel Gandolfo, Benedict participated in two public events. He received two honorary doctorates given to him by Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, Pope John Paul II's longtime aide, from the Pontifical University of John Paul II and the Kraków Academy of Music. In his reception address, Benedict paid homage to his predecessor, John Paul II.
  
  The Joseph Ratzinger–Benedict XVI Roman Library at the Pontifical Teutonic College was announced in April 2015 and was scheduled to open to scholars in November 2015. The library section dedicated to his life and thought is being catalogued. It includes books by or about him and his studies, many donated by Benedict himself.
  
  Benedict, in August 2015, submitted a handwritten card to act as a testimony to the cause of canonization of Pope John Paul I.
  
  In March 2016, Benedict gave an interview expressing his views on mercy and endorsing Francis's stress on mercy in his pastoral practice. Also that month, a Vatican spokesman stated that Benedict was "slowly, serenely fading" in his physical health, although his mental capacity remained "perfectly lucid".
  
  The pope emeritus was honoured by the Roman Curia and Francis in 2016 at a special audience, honouring the 65th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. That November, he did not attend the consistory for new cardinals, rather meeting with them and Francis at his residence afterward. Following the death of Cardinal Paulo Evaristo Arns in December 2016, Benedict became the last living person appointed cardinal by Pope Paul VI.
  
  In June 2017, Benedict received newly created cardinals in his chapel and spoke with each of them in their native language. In July 2017, he sent a message through his private secretary for the funeral of Cardinal Joachim Meisner, who had suddenly died while on vacation in Germany.
  
  In November 2017, images emerged on the Facebook page of the Bishop of Passau, Stefan Oster, of Benedict with a black eye; the bishop and author Peter Seewald visited the former pope on 26 October since the pair were presenting Benedict with the new book Benedict XVI – The German Pope which the Passau diocese created. The former pope suffered the hematoma earlier after having slipped.
  
  Benedict was portrayed by Anthony Hopkins in the biographical film The Two Popes, which came out in 2019. In late 2019, Benedict collaborated on a book expressing that the Catholic Church must maintain its discipline of clerical celibacy, in light of ongoing debate on the issue, though later requested his name to be removed from the book as co-author.
  
  In June 2020, Benedict visited his dying brother Georg in Germany for the last time. Georg died on 1 July, aged 96.
  
  On 3 August 2020, Benedict's aides disclosed that he had an inflammation of the trigeminal nerve. On 2 December of the same year, Maltese cardinal Mario Grech announced to Vatican News that Benedict had difficulty speaking and that he had told the new cardinals after the consistory that "the Lord has taken away my speech in order to let me appreciate silence".
  
  Benedict became the longest-lived pope whose age can be verified on 4 September 2020, at 93 years, 141 days, surpassing the age of Pope Leo XIII. There are two popes who are claimed to have lived longer than Benedict: Pope St Agatho (574–681), who died aged 107; and Pope Gregory IX (1145–1241), who died aged 96. However, although there is some contemporary documentation attesting to their ages, there is not sufficient evidence for them to be verified with complete certainty.
  
  In January 2021, Benedict and Francis each received doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. On 29 June 2021, the pope emeritus celebrated his platinum jubilee (70th anniversary) as a priest.
  
  Following the consistory of 27 August 2022, Francis and the newly created cardinals paid a brief visit to Benedict at Mater Ecclesiae Monastery.