WHEN the newly elected Pope Benedict XVI gave his acceptance speech last month, he explained that he had chosen his name primarily because the papacy of Benedict XV had been “a short reign”, writes Jon Follain.

Both the 78-year-old former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and the cardinals who elected him had given much thought to his age and his health. Breaking a Vatican taboo, princes of the church have now revealed that he has had a second mild stroke within the past two years and that he also suffers from a heart condition.

His ailments raise questions about how long his papacy will last. Since his election Benedict, the oldest man to become pope in 275 years, has at times been helped by an aide to stand during church services.

The French cardinal Philippe Barbarin, of Lyons, said that health problems following a first stroke in 1991 had repeatedly prompted Ratzinger to ask his predecessor, John Paul II, to release him from his job as the Vatican’s chief doctrinal enforcer so that he could retire to Germany and write books.

“Ratzinger presented his resignation when he had his first health problems in the early 1990s and also very recently when he had new health problems, a stroke,” Barbarin said in an interview.

Asked about the stroke, a cardinal from Latin America said: “People also say he has heart problems. When Ratzinger mentioned the brief papacy of Benedict XV, he may have had a premonition that his health would not stay with him.”

Benedict XVI’s brother Georg, 81, a priest, has appalled many in the Vatican by speaking candidly of his concerns. Georg said last weekend that he feared the task ahead would be too much for his brother.

According to a biography by John Allen, Ratzinger’s brain haemorrhage in 1991 affected his vision and for the past decade has had dizzy spells and difficulty sleeping.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone of Genoa, who has worked under Ratzinger, said: “He has sufficient strength and his doctor will follow him.”

Explore World News

• World Agenda

• Iraq News

• US & Americas News

• Europe News

• Middle East News

• Afghanistan News

• Asia News

• Africa News

• Ireland News

Times Recommends

• No apology for Germany’s own Nazi victims
• Intricate web of fear and hope tying down deal
• Victims remembered a year after Mumbai attacks