Pope Francis expects to die “as pope, whether in office or as an emeritus. And in Rome. I will not go back to Argentina. He revealed this in an interview with the famous Argentine journalist and doctor, Nelson Castro, for a new book on the health of the recent pope from Leo XIII to Francis, which will be published on March 1 in Buenos Aires.
When Dr. Castro asked him if he was thinking of death, Pope Francis said ‘Yes’. Asked if he feared death, he replied: “Absolutely not.” He answered other questions and said he expected to die “in Rome, as pope or emeritus”. He also made it clear that he would be buried in the Eternal City and not, as some have suggested, return to be buried in Buenos Aires, where he had spent most of his life.
He also made it clear that he would be buried in the Eternal City and not, as some have suggested, return to be buried in Buenos Aires, where he had spent most of his life.
An excerpt from the interview was published today, February 27, in La Nacion, the Argentine daily the pope read when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires. In the excerpt from an interview at the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, on February 16, 2019, Francis talks about the surgical removal of cysts from the upper lobe of his right lung in October 1957 when he was 21 years old. It is remarkable, however, that Francis reaffirms that he “completely recovered” from the operation, “and has never felt a limitation since.”
Nevertheless, some have written that he has only one lung left, and it keeps writing, but that is false. As Dr. Castro reports in his book, and as I in my book The election of Pope Francis, the rumor that he had only spread one lung in the 2013 conclave in the Sistine Chapel when it became clear that he would be elected pope. Some cardinals see this as a deliberate attempt by other voters to block his path to the papacy, so much so that he had to deny the rumor twice on March 13 when he questioned two cardinals separately.
In the excerpt published in La Nacion today, the pope states that he “never” underwent psychoanalysis as some have reported. However, he confirms that during a period of six months, he visited a major female psychologist once a week during the period when he took the greatest risks to help people escape during the military dictatorship in Argentina, and she told him helped to overcome the tensions and fears he was experiencing at the time.
He admits in the interview that he sometimes suffers from ‘neurotic anxiety’, but states that he has largely learned to overcome such anxiety by listening to Bach or ‘mate’, a popular Argentine herbal drink.
In the full interview in the book, Francis also talks about his problem with sciatica and explains why he underwent surgery to deal with it when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires. He also reveals that during his time as archbishop he had a kind of pre-heart attack problem, but it was solved. He also talks about a few other ailments, but concludes that he is now well cared for and in fact has good health for a person of his age.
Nelson Castro reveals that it was Pope Francis who in 2017, when he visited the Vatican, suggested that he write a book on the pope’s health, and he promised to give him an interview about his own health for this work. . The title of the book is La Salud de los Papas: Medicina, komplotte y fe, desde Leo XIII hasta Francisco (“The Health of the Popes: Medicine, plots and faith, from Leo XIII to Francis). Published by Sudamericana, the book examines in depth the long illness of John Paul II, the sudden death of John Paul I, the problems that Paul VI had with a prostate surgery, the suffering of John XXIII’s death, the health problems of Pius XII, the false news about the death of Benedict XV, the legend of the poisoning of Pius XI, the pain of the war that drove Pius X to his death, and the long life of Leo XIII. It is important that dr. Castro had access to the secret archives of the Vatican for this well-researched book that will definitely get a wide readership.