A few days after returning from his 12-day tour of Asia and Oceania — the longest trip of his pontificate, both in terms of days and distance — Pope Francis seems in surprisingly good shape, despite his 87 years.
On September 18, 2024, as he does every Wednesday, Pope Francis presided over the general audience before thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square. Arriving in his popemobile, he drove through the crowd, smiling and stopping regularly to bless the children.
In his address, he spoke of his long journey to Asia-Oceania, recalling that Paul VI had also made an extensive tour of the same region before him, in 1970. “Being a few years older than he was, I limited myself to four countries,” he said.
Paul VI visited nine countries in 12 days at the age of 73.
Between September 2 and 13, Pope Francis visited Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore. It’s the longest trip of his pontificate with almost 44 hours spent on the plane.
“It is called an Apostolic Journey because it is not a tourist trip, it is a journey to bring the Word of the Lord, to make the Lord known, and also to get to know the souls of the peoples,” recalled the Pope, who spent 12 days in contact with the inhabitants of the countries he visited, notably during direct contact with crowds in Dili and Jakarta.
“I thank the Lord who allowed me to do as an elderly pope what I would have liked to do as a young Jesuit,” said Pope Francis during the general audience, recalling how he had wanted to become a missionary in Asia when he was young.
However, that dream was thwarted in his youth by a serious respiratory problem in 1957, which almost killed him and led to the removal of the upper lobe of his right lung.
Numerous health problems since 2021
This antecedent issue is far from being the only one in the Pope’s medical history. Particularly since 2021, he has had some health issues, including flare-ups of his recurrent sciatica. This latter prompted him to declare, on returning from his three-day trip to Iraq, that he was “much more” tired during this trip than on previous ones. O
n July 4 of the same year, he underwent surgery for symptomatic diverticular stenosis of the colon — doctors removed 14 inches of his intestine — and he was hospitalized for 10 days. He admits that he had difficulty adapting to the treatments prescribed after the operation.
From 2022 onwards, due to severe knee pain, the Pope began to use a wheelchair, and had to cancel appointments in February when the pain was so acute he required injections. Since then, he has rarely stood for long periods, and always with the help of a cane.
In June 2022, the pontiff canceled a trip to Africa, but decided to continue with another trip to Canada. During that journey, for the first time, timetables and itineraries were adjusted to allow him to rest and limit effort. On the plane back, he said he felt that he was no longer in a position to make such trips. (The inability to cope with such long-distance travel was one of the main arguments for Benedict XVI’s resignation.)
In 2023, the pontiff returned to the hospital to treat infectious bronchitis in March, to undergo surgery for an intestinal hernia with a risk of obstruction in June, and for a lung scan in November.
And at the start of 2024, he seems to have come down with the flu, forcing him to cancel numerous appointments.
Exceptionally fit for his trip
Before leaving for Asia-Oceania, the big question was whether the pontiff still had the strength to make such a trip. But as a sign of how well it went, the question of his health wasn’t even raised with the Pope during the in-flight conference on his return from Singapore on September 13.
Throughout his journey, the Pope never seemed tired, with the possible exception of the Mass in Dili, due to the intense heat on the Tasi Tolu esplanade. Certainly, his schedule had been arranged to give him time to rest, particularly on his arrival in Jakarta and Port Moresby, where he was able to enjoy a half-day and a night without any commitments.
“I can imagine that Pope Francis felt tired, but it’s true that he showed it very little during his trip,” a member of the Roman Curia who accompanied him during these 12 days says to I.MEDIA, and describes him as galvanized by the event.
For this priest, the pontiff’s surprising health also has a spiritual explanation. He recalls that since the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Francis has never failed to ask the people he meets to pray for him. On this occasion, he notes that the Catholic communities in the countries on the trip’s agenda, worried about the possibility of the Pontiff canceling his visit, particularly honored this request ahead of the journey.
A doctor’s opinion
“We can’t help but admire the strength of this man,” comments Dr. Christophe de Jaeger, gerontologist and president of the French Society for Longevity Medicine and Physiology. In his opinion, it’s perfectly possible to travel at a very advanced age, but the Pope’s display of energy can be explained by the role and function he occupies.
“When you have over a billion faithful counting on you, it creates a dynamic and an energy that will help him overcome fatigue and pain,” explains the French doctor. Aware of and motivated by these expectations, the Pontiff would thus be “psychologically stimulated” by the trip.
A busy schedule
For the time being, the Pope, who likes to say that “there are no lazy people” in the Vatican, resumed his work the day after his return by receiving a group of Theatines. On Monday, he had nine appointments on the official agenda in the morning, including a meeting with an official of the Hong Kong mission, the office in charge of relations with China.
His agenda will be very busy in the coming weeks, first with a trip to Belgium and Luxembourg, then with the Synod on Synodality, which will occupy the whole month of October.
“On the eve of the second synodal assembly, it’s a strong message from the Pope: there’s a pilot on board, we’re moving forward!” says Michel Chambon, theologian and anthropologist specializing in Asian Catholicism, who has followed Pope Francis’ journey with great attention.
And today we celebrate...