Pope tells elderly and sick he, too, is old and ailing
Pope Francis on Sunday asked a group of elderly and sick members of Rome's seaside parish to pray for him because he, too, had grown old and was ailing. "Pray for me, too, eh," Francis told the parishioners in a private meeting that was later broadcast by Catholic channel TV2000. The comment comes two months after Francis said in an interview with a Mexican broadcaster: "I have the feeling that my pontificate will be brief – four or five years, even two or three. Benedict, now known as Pope Emeritus, became the first head of the Roman Catholic Church in 600 years to resign instead of ruling until he died, and Francis has said Benedict's move should not be considered "an exception, but an institution".
