BUENOS AIRES | Pope Francis sees himself dying in Rome, still sovereign pontiff, without returning to live in his native Argentina, according to an interview transcribed in a book entitled The health of the popes, whose good sheets were published on Saturday in the Argentinian daily La Nacion.
In this interview with Argentinian journalist and doctor Nelson Castro at the Vatican in February 2019, the Pope says he thinks of death, but does not fear it.
Asked how he sees his own end, Francis, 84, replies: “I will be Pope, in office or emeritus. And in Rome. I will not go back to Argentina ”.
According to the author of the work entitled The health of the popes. Doctor, plot and faith. From Leon XIII to François, which will be released on Monday in Argentina, “this is the first time that a pope has spoken of his health with the transparency with which Francis has done”.
The former Archbishop of Buenos Aires, named Jorge Bergoglio, also affirms that he does not miss Argentina: “No, I do not miss her. I lived there for 76 years. What hurts me are its problems ”, in an allusion to the economic crisis that is shaking the South American country.
The Argentine Pope has been vaccinated against COVID-19. In addition to his age, the leader of the 1.3 billion Catholics is considered a person at risk: at the age of 21, in 1957, he suffered from acute pleurisy and surgeons had to carry out the partial removal of his right lung. .