Retired Pope Benedict XVI celebrated his 88th birthday on Thursday with a party at his old summer residence and a beer.
Photos released by the Vatican newspaper showed the German pope toasting a group of Bavarians in the gardens of the papal residence at Castel Gandolfo, accompanied by his older brother, Monsignor Georg Ratzinger.
Pope Francis celebrated mass in Benedict’s honour on Thursday morning, saying he hopes God “supports him and gives him much joy and happiness”.
The photos were the first proof that Benedict has used the summer residence since he spent several months there following his February 2013 resignation. He subsequently moved into a converted monastery in the Vatican gardens.
Francis has declined to use the estate, located in the hills south of Rome, preferring to stay in the Vatican even during the hot summer months.
In recent interviews on the eve of the birthday, Benedict’s secretary, Monsignor Georg Gänswein, said the retired pope feels his age and thinks about his own mortality.
“The emeritus pope thinks about death and is preparing for his death,” Gänswein said in an interview with Mediaset television this week. “It’s a Christian art, because preparing for one’s death means preparing to meet God.”
Ratzinger became the first pope in 600 years to step down, saying he didn’t have the strength of body or spirit to carry on.
Benedict spends his time reading and keeping up with his correspondences, receiving guests and occasionally playing the piano.
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