These are only control examinations, according to the Vatican which wants to reassure on the health of the sovereign pontiff, who is 86 years old. Pope Francis was admitted to Gemelli Hospital in Rome on Tuesday. The Argentine pope arrived at 10:40 a.m. in this establishment in which he had already been treated at the end of March for a respiratory infection, then on May 26 due to a feverish state, according to the Ansa and AGI agencies. He left around 11:20 a.m. to reach the Saint Martha residence where he lives in the Vatican, Ansa reported.
In March, the Vatican announced that the pope was going to hospital for scheduled check-ups, before admitting he had been having difficulty breathing and was suffering from an infection that required antibiotic treatment. Pope Francis said two weeks ago in an interview with Spanish-language television Telemundo that this “pneumonia” had been treated “in time”. “If we had waited a few more hours, it would have been much more serious,” he said.
A possible waiver?
As for his knee pain, which forces him to move around in a wheelchair or using a cane, he said he felt “much better”. “Some days are more painful than others, like today, but that’s part of the recovery,” he said.
The health of Jorge Bergoglio, elected in 2013, regularly fuels speculation about the possibility of a renunciation of his office and his succession. He has repeatedly said he would consider resigning – like his predecessor Benedict XVI, who died in December – if his health were to fail, but he recently claimed that was not on the cards.