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Five Fun Facts About Pope Francis as He Bounces Back from Pneumonia
Keep praying for him
As most of the world surely knows by now, Pope Francis has been hospitalized since February 14th as he battles double pneumonia. Pneumonia is no walk in the park for someone in their 20s (I had it during Army Basic Training), and even less so for a man who is 88 years old, had part of one lung removed in 1957, and regularly works himself to the point of exhaustion. Thankfully, after several setbacks over the past three weeks, it appears that he is finally turning the corner; he even sent a brief recorded message two days ago to the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square, thanking them for their prayers.
Hopefully, this improvement will be enough to stop the morbid “who is most likely to become pope if Francis dies” talk that has been circulating almost since the moment he entered Rome’s Gemelli University Hospital. Lord knows I have had disagreements with the pope over the course of his pontificate, but those speculating on his possible death need to get themselves to Confession immediately. And don’t count on him resigning, either; though he was open to the idea after he was first elected, he has since made clear the papacy is a lifelong calling. He clearly sees (as do many others) that while Benedict XVI believed he did the right thing by resigning in 2013, it was…
