THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has lost so much weight in the last few weeks that he appears to have shrunk to "half his previous size", according to a German cardinal who visited him.
Joachim Meisner, the Archbishop of Cologne, was shocked at how Benedict's state of health had deteriorated, saying he appeared to have physically shrunk.
Cardinal Meisner went to see Benedict on March 18, the day before Pope Francis was inaugurated as his successor.
At the time Benedict was living in Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer residence outside Rome, having resigned from the Seat of St Peter on Feb 28.
"I was shocked at how thin he had become," Cardinal Meisner told the German Catholic News Agency (KNA).
"He looked like he had halved in size. At first I did not agree with his resignation. But when I saw him my reservations melted away. Mentally, however, he is quite fit, his old self." » | Nick Squires, Rome | Thursday, May 09, 2013
