By Sarah Mac Donald - 22 August, 2013
Catholic news agency, Zenit, has reported that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has revealed that he decided to resign following a “mystical experience”.
This mystical revelation, he said, fostered the “absolute desire” in him to be with God in private prayer.
The retired pontiff told an unnamed visitor who met him privately several weeks ago that the “charisma” of his successor was an indication that his resignation was “God’s will”.
When asked why he stepped down, the Pope Emeritus reportedly said “God told me to.”
He also explained that there was no apparition or any phenomenon of that kind. It was a “mystical experience”.
The Lord planted the seed of an “absolute desire” in his heart “to remain alone with him, secluded in prayer,” he said.
According to the source, this mystical experience has lasted throughout the months of his retirement, increasing his longing for a unique and direct relationship with God.
The more the Pope Emeritus observes the “charisma” of his successor, Pope Francis, the more he realises that his decision to resign the papacy was “the will of God,” Zenit reported.
Last Sunday, the retired Pope broke from his usual routine and travelled to Castel Gandolfo where he prayed in the gardens and heard a concert of piano music before he returned to his Mater Ecclesiae monastery in the Vatican which is his current residence.
