Franics had predicted he would have a short pontificate, but from this moment…
To this…it has been more than 10 and a half years.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected at age 76 and is now celebrating his 87th birthday. But his doctors say that mentally, he continues to be sharp.
DR. SERGIO ALFIERI
You will see that this man has the head of a 60-year-old.
Even so, age has still managed to take its toll on his body.
POPE FRANCIS
Now, traveling is not as easy as it was in the beginning.
For Pope Francis, 2023 has been a physically tough year. In addition to his notorious knee problems, he was admitted to the Gemelli hospital with a lung infection shortly before Easter. In June, he returned to the hospital to undergo surgery for an abdominal hernia, which sparked doubts about whether he would participate in World Youth Day Lisbon.
DR. SERGIO ALFIERI
What is the problem? If, in the following days, we do not pay special attention to the healing process or we do not take care of the net that we put in the abdominal wall, if the net tears, to use a non-medical term, this forces us to operate again.
Luckily, this was not the case. The Pope followed his doctor's advice and was able to travel to Lisbon—a trip that both Pope Francis and thousands of young people were looking forward to.
Soon after, the Pope traveled to Mongolia and Marseille, France. More often than not, he moved around in a wheelchair and, compared to his early trips as pope, the schedule was significantly reduced than in the past.
Towards the end of November, Pope Francis' health once again made headlines when the flu, lung inflammation and breathing difficulties forced him to cancel his long-awaited trip to the COP28 climate summit in Dubai.
Yet the Pope appears to have no intention of slowing down. He continues to hold formal meetings. At times, as many as eight in one day. Likewise, he rarely misses his big appointments at the Vatican, such as his weekly Wednesday audience. He still presides over meetings and large assemblies, like the Synod on Synodality in October. Moreover, the Argentine Pope continues to show that no matter how many years go by, he has not lost his zest for life.
JRB
TR: KG
