After five weeks of hospitalization with pneumonia, including moments where he came close to death, Pope Francis is back at home in the Vatican recovering.
Now, the attention in the Vatican is on how the 88-year-old pontiff will lead the Catholic Church following what has been the worst health crisis of his papacy. The early signs point to the pope’s determination to continue in post, but a lot depends on how much he improves in the coming weeks.
Francis’ convalescence will take place in the Casa Santa Marta, designed as a guesthouse primarily for cardinals taking part in conclaves. He stayed there during the 2013 papal election but never left. It is this guesthouse that is the backdrop for much of “Conclave,” the recent movie on the drama of a papal transition.
With the real-life pope battling for his life at the same time the movie was up for numerous Academy Awards, many speculated that life was about to imitate art.
Dr. Sergio Alfieri, head of the medical team that took care of the pontiff at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, said in an interview with Italy’s Corriere della Sera that Francis came so close to death they considered stopping treatment and “let him go.” Those around Francis, he said, had “tears in their eyes.” And at one difficult moment the pope held Alfieri’s hand for comfort.
But Francis – not for the first time – surprised people. His medical team, using all the drugs and therapies possible, saved his life.
On Sunday March 23, Francis was discharged from the Gemelli Hospital and made his first public appearance since being admitted on February 14. As he was wheeled out onto the hospital balcony, the pope looked happy to be heading home, giving a thumbs up to the crowd.
Yet the appearance underlined his fragility. Even during his brief appearance at the Gemelli, he struggled to speak and to raise his arm to give people his blessing. He also seemed to have difficulty breathing. As he was driven back to the Vatican, he wore the nasal tubes that had been giving him supplemental oxygen.
Doctors have ordered a two-month convalescence and during that time advised him against holding meetings with large groups or with children to minimize the risk of infections. A planned visit from King Charles has been postponed. Francis will need to reassess his once-intense schedule.
It’s unclear whether the pope can lead or even attend any of next month’s services during Holy Week and Easter Sunday, the high point of the church’s liturgical year, or make a planned trip to Turkey in May.
The Catholic Church is also in the middle of a jubilee year, with teams of pilgrims coming to Rome and expecting to see the pope. Francis has a difficult balancing act. He needs to take the time to recover to avoid any further relapse. Yet the expectations of the papacy, and the way he has exercised his office as a visible and accessible pope, demand his public presence.
Senior figures in the Vatican are talking now of a new phase of the Francis papacy, with the pope seeing his physical vulnerability as a means to show solidarity with the world’s most vulnerable communities. Although Francis is ailing physically, he remains mentally lucid.
Like the pope, Czerny is a member of the Jesuit order and has worked with him closely on advocacy for migrants and refugees. He doesn’t see the pope’s health challenges as preventing him from leading.
“From the start, Pope Francis has been teaching with words and gestures. Wherever he went, people yearned for his embrace, and he gave it even from his wheelchair,” Czerny explained, emphasizing the pontiff’s time in hospital showed his “determination to continue serving, good humour, courage and faith.”
“His illness seems to have made his incessant appeals for peace more powerful and more poignant, for so many people are suffering from the pandemic of wars today,” Czerny added.
Throughout Francis’ ill health, the Vatican has drawn comparisons with the latter years of Pope John Paul II. The Polish pope continued to lead the church despite a long period of illness, including Parkinson’s disease. But there are differences. During that time, top officials in the Vatican took control of key decisions, with his private secretary, now Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, becoming a powerful gatekeeper. Francis, however, has never allowed a figure to emerge as a “deputy” and has always been a hands-on pope.
Alberto Melloni, a church historian, says that Francis’ style of leadership does not allow for too much delegating. He added that Francis was already weak before entering hospital but now won’t be able to “compensate” for this through determination.
At the Santa Marta, a new adjustable bed with electrical controls has reportedly been installed for the pope. He will continue to receive oxygen and round-the-clock medical care if needed. The pope has a personal nurse, Massimiliano Strappetti, who Francis credits with saving his life previously, and a Vatican doctor, Dr. Luigi Carbone.
The pope is known to be a determined and stubborn character who is driven by a deep sense of mission. And as the last weeks have shown, the Argentine pontiff’s ability to bounce back shouldn’t be underestimated.