Pope Francis hopes to die in Rome, still the Catholic pontiff, without returning to spend his last days in his native Argentina, according to a new book entitled “The Health of the Popes”.
In an interview with Argentine journalist and doctor Nelson Castro at the Vatican in February 2019, the pope said he thinks about death, but does not fear it.
Excerpts from the book were published on Saturday in the Argentine daily La Nacion.
Asked how he sees his last days, Francisco, 84, replied: “I will be pope, active or emeritus, and in Rome. I will not be returning to Argentina.”
Francis has had to cancel some events in the past few months due to a painful sciatica problem, but there is no information that he has other serious illnesses.
The Vatican has always been reticent about the Pope’s health.
According to the new book, “this is the first time that a pope discusses his health with the transparency provided by Francisco”.
The pontiff, a former archbishop of Buenos Aires, says he does not miss his native Argentina, where Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born, the son of Italian immigrants.
“No, I don’t miss it. I lived there for 76 years. What hurts me are your problems ”- an allusion to the economic crisis that is shaking the South American country.
The pope was vaccinated against Covid-19.
In addition to his age, the leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics is considered to be at high risk: in 1957, at the age of 21, he suffered from acute pleurisy and had part of his right lung removed.