Pope Francis is still hospitalized, despite an improvement in his health. His weakened condition feeds speculations on a possible resignation. Clues lean towards a renunciation of the sovereign pontiff, but can be interpreted differently.
The health of Pope Francis improves, but not enough that he leaves the Gemelli Hospital in Rome. The absence of the sovereign pontiff in the Vatican has been going on for more than a month, but on Sunday March 16 for the first time since hospitalization a photo of the Holy Father was published. The 88 -year -old Jesuit appears from behind, dressed in a white chasuble and a purple stole in full prayer in a chapel of the hospital. The cliché does not give precision on the health or state of mind of Pope Francis, unlike a message from the Holy Father disseminated during the Sunday prayer of the Angelus.
“I am confronted with an ordeal and I join so many brothers and sisters who are sick, fragile, at the moment, like me. Our bodies are weakened, but even so, nothing can prevent us from loving, praying, of giving us, being for each other, in faith, light signs of hope,” wrote Pope Francis. An ordeal that can be understood as this of the disease, the sovereign pontiff with fragile health for several years is struggling to recover from the bilateral pulmonary infection which led him to the hospital. But it can also be understood as the burden of directing the Church.
Is Pope Francis still able to be at the head of the Vatican? The question arises at the Holy See and speculations on a possible resignation of the Sovereign Pontiff is going well. Canon law allows the Pope to give up his function as long as his choice is “freely and duly manifested”, without external pressure. The case has also already presented with the predecessor of Pope Francis: Benoît XVI had decided to make his title in 2013 no longer feeling to play his role to an advanced elderly. But before him, only one pope had left his duties: Grégoire XII in 1415. Will Pope Francis follow these examples or the tradition which wants a Pope to remain Pope until his death?
A consistory to say goodbye?
In addition to the fragile health of the 88 -year -old Jesuit, other elements fuel speculations on the resignation of Pope Francis. On February 25, the sovereign pontiff summoned an “ordinary consistory”, a meeting of the cardinals to canonize new saints, without specifying the date. While Benoît XVI had taken advantage of a consistory to announce his renunciation, some imagine seeing the scenario repeat themselves. According to Bernard Lecomte, French specialist in the papacy interviewed by The Parisian, The meeting “is a pretext, behind which perhaps hides the inclination for a resignation”.
“If it was necessary to make bets, there is at least 10 % chance that he announces his renunciation” during this consistory, abounds a vatican source in the Parisian. Probability that rests for many on the capacity of Pope Francis has assumed his functions. According to Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, with the Italian radio RTL 102.5, the sovereign pontifies “could decide to resign if he was in a situation where his ability to have direct contact, to communicate immediate, incisive and decisive manner was compromised”. However, the Pope has not expressed himself publicly since mid-February. Only a recording of the Holy Father was broadcast by the Vatican on March 6 and it is a pope with an attendant voice who was expressed strengthening the concerns. “”We are in a waiting situation, and there will be no surprise effect if we learn that the Pope renounces, “regrets a regular from the Roman Curia with the Cross.
What Pope Francis said of a resignation
Pope Francis has several times expressed his wish to ensure his pontificate until his death, especially after the series of hospitalizations he knew in 2023. He then assured that the Church was governed “with the head and not the legs”. The sovereign pontiff is also motivated at the idea of being able to live a jubilee as a Saint-Fère: this event takes place every 25 years in the Vatican and attracts thousands of Catholics who make a pilgrimage to Rome and the next is scheduled for January 6, 2026.
However, the sovereign pontiff also paved the way for a possible resignation. When several health problems weakened, he explained that if his health no longer allowed him to hold his functions he would give up his pontificate. He also already signed, shortly after his election in 2013, a letter of resignation if his health ever came to prevent him from exercising. The period can be an opportunity for Pope Francis to assess these capacities while Lent began and holy week is approaching Easter. This is the “main highlight of the year for Catholics. In the current state of things, he cannot assume it,” said Antoine-Marie Izoard, ex-responsible for the Saint-Siège news agency, still in the Parisian.
The fact remains that the Pope’s resignation may only be expressed by the Pope himself. Concretely, as long as Pope Francis does not appear and does not express themselves to the public, it is because he does not provide for resignation explains Loup Besmond de Senneville, editor -in -chief of the Cross on France 5. As for the consistory, he can also be used by the Pope as a means of proving his ability to continue his pontificate according to this expert.
For two big names from the Cardinaux College,, Jean-Marc Aveline de Marseille and Juan José Omella Omella de Barcelona, ”everything is possible”, as Repubblica reports, especially since hospitalization is extended and that the Pope is relatively old. However, in some, hope remains: “The number one option in our minds is … that he heals and continues”, confidesAn employee of the Vatican in the Parisian.