"The Pope Emeritus was able to rest well last night," Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement, adding that Benedict was "absolutely lucid and alert."
"Today, although his condition remains serious, the situation remains stable at the moment," Bruni said of Benedict.
Meanwhile, Pope Francis has renewed his request to pray for Benedict and "to accompany him in these difficult hours," according to Bruni.
During a general audience at the Vatican on Wednesday, Francis disclosed that his predecessor was "very ill."
Francis said in a tweet on Wednesday: "Let us pray together for Pope Emeritus Benedict who is supporting the Church in silence. Let us ask the Lord to console him and to sustain him in this witness of love for the Church, until the end."
Archbishop asks Poles to pray for Benedict
Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki, the head of the Polish Episcopal Conference, the central authority of the Catholic Church in Poland, has appealed to people to pray for Benedict.
"I ask all the faithful in Poland to pray for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI," Gądecki said in a social media post on Wednesday.
"May the Lord give him strength and power in this difficult time of suffering and illness," Gądecki added.
Benedict is being cared for at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery inside the Vatican, where he has been living since he announced his resignation in February 2013, the Vatican News media outlet reported.
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Source: IAR, PAP, Reuters, vaticannews.va