Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, a German prelate who lived within the Vatican monastery the place Benedict took up residence after his 2013 retirement, mentioned the nurse recounted listening to Benedict utter these phrases at about 3am Saturday.
The retired pope died later that morning.
“Benedict XVI, with a faint voice but in a very distinct way, said in Italian, ‘Lord, I love you,’” Gaenswein told the Vatican’s official media, adding that it happened when the aides tending to Benedict were changing shifts.
“I wasn’t there in that moment, but the nurse a little later recounted it,” the archbishop said.
”They have been his final understandable phrases, as a result of afterwards, he wasn’t in a position to categorical himself anymore.”
Gaenswein did not identify the male nurse who shared the information.
Earlier, the Vatican said that Pope Francis went to pay his respects immediately after Gaenswein called to inform him of Benedict’s death shortly after 9.30am on Saturday.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Francis stayed in Benedict’s monastery for quite some time before returning to his residence in a hotel located across the Vatican Gardens.
During New Year’s Day remarks on Sunday, Francis prayed for his predecessor’s passage to heaven and expressed thanks for Benedict’s lifetime of service to the church.
Francis departed briefly from reading his homily during a morning Mass at St Peter’s Basilica to pray aloud for Benedict.
“Today we entrust to our Blessed Mother our beloved Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, so that she may accompany him in his passage from this world to God,” he said.
The basilica is set to host Benedict’s coffin for three days of viewing that start Monday.
Rome Prefect Bruno Frattasi, an Interior Ministry official, told Italian state TV that “no fewer than 25,000, 30,000” mourners were expected to file past the coffin on Monday.
On Sunday, Benedict’s body lay on a burgundy-coloured bier in the chapel of the monastery where he had lived during his nearly decade-long retirement.
He was dressed in a miter, the headgear of a bishop, and a red cloak-like vestment.
A rosary was placed in his hand.
Behind him, visible in photos released by the Vatican, were the chapel’s altar and a decorated Christmas tree.
Francis remembered Benedict again later Sunday while addressing thousands of people in St Peter’s Square.
He told the crowd that “in these hours, we invoke her intercession, in particular for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who, yesterday morning, left this world.”
“Let us unite all collectively, with one coronary heart and one soul, in giving because of God for the reward of this trustworthy servant of the Gospel and of the church,” Francis mentioned, talking from a window of the Apostolic Palace to pilgrims and vacationers beneath.
The sq. would be the setting for Benedict’s funeral led by Francis on Thursday morning.
The service can be a easy one, the Vatican has mentioned, in line with the desires of Benedict.
Before he was elected pope in 2005, Benedict was a German cardinal who served because the Church’s guardian of doctrinal orthodoxy.
In current years, Francis hailed Benedict’s gorgeous resolution to turn out to be the primary pope to resign in 600 years and has made clear he’d take into account such a step as an choice for himself.
Hobbled by knee ache, Francis, 86, on Sunday arrived within the basilica in a wheelchair and took his place in a chair for the Mass, which was being celebrated by the Vatican’s secretary of state.
Francis, who has repeatedly decried the conflict in Ukraine and its devastation, recalled those that are victims of conflict, passing the year-end holidays in darkness, chilly and worry.
“At the beginning of this year, we need hope, just as the Earth needs rain,” Francis mentioned in his homily.
While addressing the trustworthy in St. Peter’s Square, the pope cited the “intolerable” conflict in Ukraine, which started greater than 10 months in the past, and conflicts elsewhere different locations on the earth.
Yet, Francis mentioned, “let us not lose hope” that peace will prevail.
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