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Reports are surfacing that Pope Francis' predecessor Pope Benedict, the 95-year-old former pontiff who resigned from the post nine years ago, is “very sick” and in declining health.
“I want to ask you all for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict who sustains the Church in his silence. He is very sick,” Francis said during his general audience at the Vatican on Wednesday.
“We ask the Lord to console and sustain him in this witness of love for the Church to the very end.”
Pope Francis is also up there in age and that prompted BetOnline to begin taking bets on who might ultimately succeed him.
Odds for Next Pope to Succeed Pope Francis
Cardinal Luis Tagle 6-1
Cardinal Peter Turkson 6-1
Cardinal Pietro Parolin 6-1
Cardinal Marc Ouellet 7-1
Cardinal Robert Sarah 10-1
Cardinal Angelo de Donatis 12-1
Cardinal Konrad Krajewski 12-1
Cardinal Raymond Burke 12-1
Cardinal Cristoph Schonborn 14-1
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi 14-1
Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer 14-1
Cardinal O. Rodriguez Maradiaga16-1
Cardinal Peter Erdo 16-1
Archbishop Lauro Tisi 25-1
Archbishop Sean O'Malley 25-1
Cardinal Angelo Scola 25-1
Cardinal Blase J. Cupich 25-1
Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi 25-1
Bishop Guido Marini 33-1
Bishop Robert McElroy 33-1
Cardinal Albert Malcolm Ranjith 33-1
Cardinal Timothy Dolan 33-1
Archbishop Giorgio Marengo 50-1
Archbishop Leonardo Steiner 100-1
Cardinal Vincent Nichols 100-1
Archbishop Sergio da Rocha 125-1
Bishop Athanasius Schneider 125-1
Cardinal Vinko Puljic 125-1
Father William Joensen 125-1
Cardinal Thomas Collins 150-1
Reverend James Martin 150-1
Bishop Paulo Rudelli 200-1
Cardinal A. Yeom Soo-jung 200-1
Cardinal Willem Eljk 200-1
Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard 1000-1
- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com
