Pope Francis addressed concerns about his health in a recent interview while discussing plans for his own funeral and burial in a different location to the majority of his papal predecessors.
After having to cancel a 1 – 3 December trip to Dubai for a United Nations climate summit due to health issues, the Pope addressed the state of his health in an interview with Spanish language news site N+ on 12 December.
“I need you all to pray for my health,” he said, noting that while he is better, people should be “a little bit” worried, reports Crux.
He said that old age “does not put on makeup” and he has had to slow down. Mobility issues that have at times necessitated the use of a wheelchair have also meant his international trips have had to be “rethought”.
At the same time, though, the pontiff, who turns 87 years old on 17 December, said that “old age matures you a lot, it’s nice”, and wryly noted the fact that hospital staff tell him he is “imprudent” for wanting to “do things and move” is a positive sign and that “I’m pretty good”.
In the interview he revealed that he has met with the Papal Master of Ceremonies, Italian Archbishop Diego Ravelli, to plan his own funeral rite—“we simplified quite a bit”—and entombment.
“It had to be done,” the Pope said, noting that his burial place in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major—Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore—“is already prepared”.
The majority of popes have been buried in St. Peter’s Basilica (as were Popes Benedict XVI, John Paul II and John XXIII). But Francis’ choice is not without precedent. St. Mary Major currently contains the remains of five previous popes: Pius V, Sixtus V, Clement XIII, Paul V and Clement IX.
Pope Francis explained that St. Mary Major is his favourite of the four papal basilicas—home to the Roman icon of Maria Salus Populi—which he visits on special Marian days of devotion, as well as before setting off and after returning from international trips.
Despite such considerations, he also told the interviewer that “it didn’t occur” to him to resign because of his health challenges. The papacy is a permanent job, he affirmed, while also stressing the need to be prepared for when the end comes.
He said he admired the “courage” his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI showed in making a decision to step down, but that for himself:
“I ask the Lord to say enough, at some point, but when He wants”.
Photo: Pope Francis celebrates the feast of Corpus Domini, commemorating Christ’s Last Supper, outside the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome, Italy, 19 June 2014. (Photo credit: ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images.)
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