Pope Francis announced that he has written a letter of resignation should medical problems prevent him from fulfilling his duties.
Francis told Spanish newspaper ABC he wrote the letter shortly after his election as pope in 2013 and gave it to Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, then Vatican Secretary of State. Cardinal Pietro Parolin is now in that role and Francis believes he is in possession of the directive.
“I signed it and said, ‘If I should be compromised for medical reasons or whatever, here’s my resignation. Here you have it,'” Francis said.
Francis, who turned 86 on Saturday, underwent surgery in 2021 to repair a narrowed bowel and has been struggling with knee pain that has seen him using a wheelchair for months. Recently, he has been using a cane rather than a wheelchair to get around in public.
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Pope Francis pauses in front of a manger in the Paul VI Hall at the end of his weekly general audience on December 14, 2022. inside the Vatican. (Massimo Valicchia/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Francis said he was sure Bertone would have forwarded the letter to the current Foreign Secretary.
He joked that he has now revealed the existence of his resignation letter, “someone is going to reach out to him [Parolin] (says, ‘Give me the piece of paper.’”
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Pope Francis during the public audience of the Confindustria in the Paul VI Hall. in Vatican City on September 12, 2022. (Grzegorz Galazka/Archivio Grzegorz Galazka/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)
In previous statements, Francis has welcomed the decision of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, to step down because he felt his advancing age would make him unable to carry out his duties.
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Benedict, who lives in a monastery on Vatican grounds, was the first pope to resign in 600 years, and his resignation paved the way for Francis’ election as the first pope from South America.
Pope Francis arrives at Nur-Sultan International Airport in Kazakhstan on September 13, 2022. (Filippo Monteforte/AFP via Getty Images)
Francis downplayed his mobility challenge in the interview, saying, “You rule with your head, not your knee.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.