Francis told Reuters in an interview last year that he preferred not to have surgery on his knee because he did not want a repeat of long-term negative side effects from anaesthesia that he suffered after the 2021 operation.
Last July, returning from a trip to Canada, Francis acknowledged that his advancing age and his difficulty walking might have ushered in a new, slower phase of his papacy.
But since then, he has visited Kazakhstan and Bahrain and made a trip last month to Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.
A TV camera scans the Agostino Gemelli hospital in Rome.Credit:AP
He has also said this year that he has no plans to resign anytime soon and that if he eventually did it would be for serious heath reasons, such as if he were gravely incapacitated.
Asked by Italian Swiss television RSI in an interview broadcast on March 12 what condition would lead him to quit, he said “A tiredness that doesn’t let you see things clearly. A lack of clarity, of knowing how to evaluate situations”.
The Pope was due to preside over a Palm Sunday service on April 2, the start of what is a hectic week of Easter ceremonies.
Reuters
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