Since his hospitalization, the state of health of Pope Francis has been at the heart of all concerns. And the sovereign pontiff has already assured his rear by returning his letter of resignation. Explanations …
Hospitalized since February 14 for pneumonia with both lungs, Pope Francis- who has already undergone a part of his lung at the age of 21- is prey to violent pulmonary crises. And at 88, they have something to worry about!
“I signed the resignation”: why did Pope Francis give his letter of renunciation?
But let the faithful be reassured, the latest news is not bad. On March 5, the Vatican said in a press release that the Pope’s state of health was “stationary”. However, rumors run on a possible resignation from Pope Francis because of his fragile state of health. It must be said that from the height of his 88 years, the representative of the Catholic Church has already assured his rear.
Indeed, as he had revealed in an interview with the Spanish media ABC In 2022, the Pope signed his resignation letter only a few weeks after taking off in 2013. “I signed the resignation and said to him: ‘In case of medical or otherwise, here is my resignation. You have it'”he had then explained, detailing to have given it by hand to the Secretary of State of the Vatican, Mgr Tarcisio Bertone, just before the latter retired the same year.
Pope’s resignation: What does the church provide?
In 2022, when he suffered from knee pain and was forced to move in a wheelchair, Pope Francis had already mentioned a possible resignation in an interview: “I think that at my age and with this constraint, I must preserve myself a little to be able to serve the church. Or, on the contrary, think about the possibility of withdrawing me“.
A resignation made possible by one of the Vatican law texts, which the one who was inducted Pope in 2013 had therefore preferred to sign in the event that health problems prevent him from fully fulfilling his functions.
In the church, such a resignation has only occurred very rarely. During history, only 10 popes, out of 266, gave up their title during their lifetime. Most of them die during the exercise of their function. The latest pope to have resigned is none other than Benoît XVI, the predecessor of Pope Francis. Affected by an infectious disease affecting his face, he decided to withdraw in 2013. He died nine years later, in 2022.
