In July 2021 he underwent surgery at Gemelli for a type of diverticulitis, an inflammation of pockets that develop in the lining of the intestine.
He was discharged after 10 days, but, in an interview in January this year, he said the diverticulitis had returned.
Francis was also hospitalised for three nights at the end of March with a respiratory infection, which was cured with antibiotics.
The pope’s hospital stays have always sparked concern and fuelled speculation over his future.
Francis’ predecessor, Benedict XVI, who died in December, quit in 2013 due to failing health.
SIDE EFFECTS
For about a year, the pope has had to rely on a wheelchair due to recurring knee pain.
He has said he does not want to have an operation on his knee because of the side-effects he suffered from the general anaesthesia for his colon surgery.
Asked about his health in an interview with US Spanish-language network Telemundo broadcast in May, Francis said it was “much better”.
“I can walk now. My knee has been mending. I could hardly walk beforehand. Now I can. Some days are more painful than others,” the pope said.
Francis added that doctors had caught his respiratory infection just in time.
“If we’d waited a few more hours, it would’ve been much more serious. But I was out (of hospital) in four days,” he said.
Francis continues to travel widely, though he acknowledged in July 2022 that he needed to slow down.
“At my age and with this limitation, I have to save myself a little bit to be able to serve the Church,” he said then.
“Or, alternatively, to think about the possibility of stepping aside.”
In March, however, he insisted that he had no current plans to quit, and on Wednesday the Vatican released the schedule for the pope’s trip to Portugal in early August.
For all the latest world News Click Here
