On Wednesday, April 13, Pope Francis visited Benedict XVI to greet him on his 95th birthday. They talked briefly and prayed together.
The following day, April 14, the content of Pope Francis’ dialogue with the Jesuits in Malta was announced. The Holy Father said that “Pope Benedict was a prophet of this Church of the future, a Church that will become smaller, will lose many privileges, will be more humble and authentic and will find energy for what is essential.”
On March 27, 2018, the Vatican reported that Pope Francis visited Benedict XVI to personally convey his Easter greetings. Two other visits occurred on Christmas of that year and on April 15, 2019, before his birthday.
On several occasions, Pope Francis, after creating new cardinals in the Catholic Church, came with the cardinals to visit Benedict XVI.
On December 8, 2015, Benedict XVI was the first pilgrim to cross the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica at the inauguration of the Year of Mercy, called by Pope Francis.
One of his most memorable appearances after the resignation of Benedict XVI took place in April 2014 for the canonization of Saint John Paul II and Saint John XXIII, considered by the press as “the day of the four Popes.”