This came after Pope Francis said in a surprise announcement in Italian at the end of his weekly general audience: "I would like to ask all of you for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict, who, in silence, is sustaining the Church."Until a few weeks ago, those who had seen Benedict said his body was very frail but his mind was still sharp.While Francis has often praised the former pope, saying it was like having a grandfather in a home, the presence of two men dressed in white in the Vatican was at times troublesome.Conservatives looked to the former pope as their standard bearer and some ultra-traditionalists even refused to acknowledge Francis as a legitimate pontiff.Cardinals chose him from among their number seeking continuity and what one called "a safe pair of hands"."