Pope Francis made a surprise request for prayers for a “very sick” Pope Benedict XVI, 95, during his weekly audience in Rome on Wednesday. Benedict, who resigned in 2013, has been living in a monastery inside Vatican City where he has kept up with theological writing, often in direct conflict with the presiding Pope Francis. Pope Benedict XVI remains an important figure for traditionalist Catholics, but has been largely blamed for not doing enough to fight clerical sex abuse during his years as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, where he served under Pope John Paul II before being elected as pope in 2005. “I would like to ask all of you for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict, who, in silence, is sustaining the Church. Let us remember him. He is very sick, asking the Lord to console and sustain him in this witness of love for the Church, until the end,” Francis said. The Vatican press office confirmed that the retired pope is very sick “due to his advanced age” and that Francis visited him after his audience.