The pope’s health, a highly sensitive topic at the Vatican

What is the real state of Pope Francis' health? A few hours after he entered Gemelli Hospital in northwest Rome this past Wednesday, the Vatican was dribbling out updates on his condition in extremely short, often one-line statements. This made it difficult to know how the 86-year-old pope was actually doing.

But officials in the Roman Curia assured on Thursday midday that the "clinical picture" of the pope "is gradually improving", saying he "is continuing with the scheduled treatment". Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, said Francis had even "read some newspapers and resumed his work". 

The Vatican spokesman added that he also "went to the small chapel of his private apartment" to pray and receive communion. Francis is staying in a special ward on the hospital’s 10th floor that has been reserved for popes since the days of John Paul II. 

Lack of truth telling

But the first hours of the Argentine pope’s hospitalization were peppered with a form of cacophony, with the Vatican first assuring that Francis had been admitted to the hospital to undergo "pre-scheduled" examinations.

La Croix has learned that this was not true. In fact, the hospital visit forced the pope to abruptly cancel several appointments he had scheduled for later on Wednesday. They included a visit to Roman prison where he was to record an interview for a television program. He also had at least two appointments at his Santa Marta Residence that afternoon, and his weekly meeting with Archbishop Paul Gallagher (his “foreign minister”) in the evening. Francis had also scheduled a number of audiences for Thursday, which were abruptly canceled. 

Furthermore, the Vatican admitted that the hospital test found that the pope was ailing from "respiratory infection" -- unrelated to Covid -- that would require some days of hospitalization. Francis, of course, had one lobe of a lung removed at age 21 because of pleurisy.

No health bulletins

Vatican officials have done everything to play down the seriousness of the pope’s condition. Thus, while it was reported that he had "complained of some breathing difficulties", officials said on Wednesday that this was something the pope had done "the last few days". They insisted his hospitalization has been extended to "continue examinations". It was also reported that Francis was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance, but the Holy See has never admitted this publicly.

It has also chosen not to publish medical bulletins as such, leaving Bruni to dole out information, rather than the pope's personal medical team or the doctors at Gemelli Hospital. This is similar to when Francis was hospitalized in July 2021 for diverticulitis of the colon and the Vatican initially presented the operation as benign, before the health scare appeared much more serious.

Downplaying the pope's health problems is part of a great Vatican tradition. It’s often said in Rome that "the pope is in good health until he dies, and maybe even a little after”.

But this customary institutional reluctance to talk about the health of the Roman Pontiff is reinforced in this present case by the personality of Francis, who considers his state of health to be strictly private.

"He never wants anything to be said about it," complained a Vatican source who recalled that, during the Covid vaccination campaign, Francis did not want the Vatican to officially announce that he that he had been immunized against the virus.

"I am very worried"

Nevertheless, the concern in the Vatican is real. Although the pope's life does not seem to be in danger, some of those close to him are expressing their emotion. One of those who says he’s “worried” is Cardinal Michael Czerny, the Canadian Jesuit.

"I'm very concerned about the situation in general," said another person who sees Francis regularly at Santa Marta. "I think that the pace of the pope's work in the last six months is the reason for this sudden hospitalization,” this person said. “From a human point of view, it is impossible to maintain a daily rhythm as sustained as his at the age of eighty-six." The same source added, "The problem is that his head is working too well and his body is asking him to slow down, which is unthinkable for him." 

The pope’s hospitalization is sure to reignite rumors of renunciation. And in the short term, it also raises uncertainty about the Holy Week and Easter liturgies Francis usually presides over. It seems likely that, at this point, various cardinals will be asked to step in for him.