ROME — Pope Francis has visited his predecessor Benedict XVI after the 95-year-old former pope’s health worsened in recent hours, a Vatican spokesperson said on Wednesday.

Francis had described Benedict as being “very sick” during a general audience at the Vatican earlier in the day. He urged the faithful to ask God “to comfort and support” the retired pontiff.

Benedict began deteriorating before Christmas Day, according to a report by the Italian news agency ANSA, which cited well-informed sources.

Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni attributed Benedict’s condition to his advanced age, without providing further details. “The situation is under control for the moment,” Bruni said.

Benedict’s long-time companion and personal assistant Georg Gänswein did not immediately respond to inquiries.

Archbishop Gänswein has helped to look after Benedict for years at the Mater Ecclesiae (Mother of the Church) Monastery at the Vatican.

The Bavarian-born pope, whose original name is Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, was elected John Paul II’s successor on April 19, 2005.

The eighth German to become pope in the 2,000-year-old history of Catholicism, and the second non-Italian in nearly 500 years, Ratzinger chose the name Benedict in honour of St Benedict, the 5th century founder of European monasticism.

Benedict said he had never aspired to become the leader of the Catholic Church. The shy intellectual had trouble connecting with the faithful, especially coming after the charismatic speaker John Paul II.

Before his pontificate, Benedict had for years been prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, making him the supreme guardian of Catholic doctrine.

Benedict’s time as pope will be remembered with coinciding with the church plunging into one of its most serious crises, as decades of child abuse and cover-ups exploded into the light starting in 2010.

He resigned on Feb. 28, 2013, the first pope in nearly 600 years to take such action. That cleared the way for the election of his Argentinian successor Francis. Since then, he has lived in relative seclusion at the monastery.

Recently, there have been several reports that Benedict was physically weak and could barely speak. “Stable in weakness,” was how Gänswein regularly put it. Mentally, however, Benedict continued to be described as fit, and also still received visitors at irregular intervals.

“The situation is certainly very serious,” Benedict’s longtime friend, the prominent German theologian Wolfgang Beinert said. “But for a man approaching 100, it’s not surprising.”

Until the beginning of this year, he had still had correspondence with Benedict, the professor emeritus of theology said. But Benedict did not reply to a letter sent for his birthday in April.