Don’t cry for him Argentina, but Pope Francis hopes to die in Rome.
“I will not return to Argentina.” The 84-year-old pontiff told Argentine journalist and doctor Nelson Castro, who on Monday published a book on the health of recent popes, dating back to Leo XIII, who led the world’s Roman Catholics from 1878 to 1903. .
Pope Francis told Castro he was thinking about death, but when asked if he feared death, he replied, “Absolutely not,” according to America Magazine, a publication of the pope’s religious order, the Jesuits.
Francis also told Castro that he hopes to die “in Rome, as pope or emeritus.” He also made it clear that he would be buried in the Eternal City and that he would not be buried again in Buenos Aires, where he spent most of his life.
Recently, the pope has suffered sciatica attacks that make it difficult for him to position himself, causing some concern among the faithful. Several services were skipped during New Year’s Eve due to hip pain caused by chronic illness.
Francis told Castro about his experience with removing cysts from the upper lobe of his right lung in 1957, when he was 21 years old. He said he “never felt any limitations” from this condition after his recovery from surgery, which some people falsely believe caused his entire lung to be removed.
She also talked about her weekly visits to a psychologist during the 1970s, when she talked about helping people escape the Argentine military dictatorship, and she helped him deal with the tensions and fears he experienced. in that moment. Sometimes he still suffers from what he called “neurotic anxiety,” which he treats by listening to Bach or taking “companion,” a popular Argentine herbal drink.
Francis, along with former Pope Benedict, received the COVID-19 vaccine in January.