The Pope had a pacemaker fitted less than three months before the announcement of his resignation, in an operation that had remained a secret until Tuesday.
Speculations about Pope Benedict XVI’s declining health and the bitter power struggles in the Vatican gripped the world following the shock news of the pontiff’s resignation.
It emerged that the 85-year-old Benedict—who abdicated on health grounds—visited a Rome hospital just three months ago to have a new pacemaker fitted.