Pope and death rumour

Little more than a week into his admission to hospital for respiratory ailments, Pope Francis was lately rumoured dead. But the pontiff was not dead. The rumour mill was a product of obfuscation over his health by a habitually secretive Vatican and a restive quest for information by millions of Catholics and Vatican watchers who were concerned about the long absence of the holy father from public view.

The pope was admitted to Agostino Gemelli University Hospital in Rome, the capital of Italy on 14th February after experiencing breathing difficulties. His condition later worsened, with his bronchitis developing into pneumonia in both lungs. Amidst heavy rumour traffic that he had died, the Vatican News reported last week that the 88-year-old pontiff was resting well and was even showing signs of “slight improvement” in his health condition. “No episodes of asthma-like respiratory distress occurred, and some laboratory tests have shown improvement. The monitoring of his mild kidney insufficiency has not raised any concerns. Oxygen therapy continues, although with slightly reduced flow and oxygen levels,” the health bulletin from the Vatican said.

The real challenge with ascertaining the pontiff’s state of health was the sparseness  of information from the Holy See press office that left plenty of room for suspicion and speculation. Even Italian media were caught in the rumour frenzy as official update from the Vatican was spare. Given the Church’s past record of deliberate fudging and opaqueness when it comes to disclosure about a pope’s state of health, among other issues,  a thick cloud of skepticism overhung the true fate of Francis. That skepticism was earned. The day after Pope John Paul II underwent a lung surgery in 2005, the then Vatican spokesman told reporters he had enjoyed a breakfast of 10 cookies and a yogurt. Not long after, John Paul was confirmed dead.

Doctors at Gemelli hospital where Francis was hospitalised didn’t help matters because they were tight-lipped. Meanwhile, access to the 10th floor of the hospital’s wing where popes have a private suite was severely restricted. “It’s easier to get into the Kremlin (in Russia) than the 10th floor (of Gemelli),” a medical official in the Italian capital was reported saying.

Keeping information tightly guarded is a Vatican tradition – whether it relates to the pope’s health, or abuse of minors by priests. Since Francis was hospitalised, the Vatican press office has issued two decidedly spare updates a day. Generally, the morning bulletin gave cursory news about how the pope slept and how he fared at breakfast. The evening bulletins were more medically informed in nature, though still light on details. Last Wednesday, the evening update said Francis’ blood tests showed “slight improvement, particularly in inflammatory indices.” It added that after breakfast, the pontiff read some newspapers, “then went about his work activities with his closest collaborators.” Francis was visited Wednesday afternoon by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who said she wanted to take get-well wishes to the pope on behalf of the government and the nation. “I am very happy to have found him alert and responsive,” she disclosed in a statement, adding: “We joked around, as always. He has not lost his proverbial sense of humor.”

The Vatican reported that the pontiff was being treated for a ‘polymicrobial infection,’ which means he had a mix of microbes, like a virus or bacteria, in his lungs or other parts of his respiratory tract. Doctors had to modify his treatment more than once, but the Holy See did not specify what drugs he was taking beyond saying he was being administered ‘cortisone antibiotic therapy.’

“There are indications Francis has been looking beyond his papacy, with an eye on posthumous legacy”

Defenders of the Vatican would argue that much has changed from the time of Francis’ predecessors, and that the Church has become more transparent. It is not the same, for instance, as when Pope John Paul II was evidently ailing before the Vatican spoke up about his health. And that may truly be so. Vatican statements provided reasons to the public upfront whenever Francis missed a meeting or an audience; it even announced the onset of his bronchitis on 6th February, about a week before he had to go on hospital admission. Still, the Church has been slow in coming clean with disclosures. In July 2021, it announced one Sunday afternoon that Francis was taken to Gemelli hospital for a “scheduled surgery” to have part of his colon removed. The suddenness of announcing a scheduled surgery took Catholic faithful aback and raised worse suspicions about Francis’ health at the time. The pope himself was more forthcoming about his health condition, though, speaking openly about his bad knee and sciatica – a chronic nerve condition that caused him back, hip and leg pain and forced him to use a wheelchair, cane or walker. In 2023, he was hospitalised at Gemelli for what the Vatican said was a respiratory infection, but which Francis later described as “acute and severe pneumonia in the lower lungs.” He told reporters on a return flight from Hungary that he was rushed to hospital.

The present challenge is the latest health crisis for the pontiff, who had part of his lung removed as a young man and has become increasingly fragile in recent years. Reports cited insider sources saying Francis had been suffering from intense pain and had privately expressed suspicion he won’t make it this time. Following his hospital admission, doctors at Gemelli  reportedly distressed the pope by barring him from delivering his regular morning Angelus sermon, which he rarely missed even when hospitalised. According to insiders, he is now acting entirely on doctors’ orders. The pontiff initially resisted going to hospital but was reportedly told in no uncertain terms he risked dying if he stayed back at the Vatican.

As his health deteriorated over recent months, Francis moved to consolidate key initiatives and appoint sympathetic figures to key positions in his progressive leaning papacy dogged by bitter ideological rifts. Since becoming pope in 2013, he has worked at making the Catholic church more inclusive, opening up key roles to women and sexually irregular people. While conservatives are furious over the reforms, liberals complain they haven’t been sufficient. Meanwhile, the pope’s efforts to end rampant child abuse by clerics have only produced mixed results.

There are indications Francis has been looking beyond his papacy, with an eye on posthumous legacy.  On 6th February, about a week before he was hospitalised, he extended the term of Italian cardinal Giovanni Battista as dean of the College of Cardinals – an official who will oversee preparations for a potential conclave, the secretive gathering that selects a new pope. Insiders in Vatican politics said the move, which controversially sidestepped a scheduled vote on the next dean by top cardinals, was intended to ensure that the succession process plays out according to Francis’s wishes. Only cardinals under 80 years are eligible to vote at the conclave and Battista, a longtime Vatican operator, is too old to participate in the process. But he will be pivotal in private discussions that often take place before the conclave. 

Ahead of the 2013 conclave that elected him pope, Francis himself benefitted from the influence of a group of cardinals who were too old to participate in the proceedings but nevertheless moderated the outcome. “The run-up to the conclave is more important as that is where lobbying goes on,” an insider was reported saying. The Catholic church has produced five cardinals in Nigeria, the latest being Peter Okpaleke appointed by Francis in 2022. Others appointed by earlier popes are the late Dominic Ekandem, John Onaiyekan, Anthony Okogie and Francis Arinze.

Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 17th December, 1936, Francis is the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. He was elected pope on 13th March, 2013, following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, who was designated “pope emeritus” and lived reclusively at the Vatican until his death in December 2022. Francis may not toe that line. But Vatican watchers say even if he survives his latest ordeal, he would likely shift focus from pursuing fresh reforms to locking in those already in place. “He may not die now, but of course, he eventually will,” a Vatican official was quoted saying. “We all die – and he’s an 88-year-old man with lung problems,” the official added.