This is the new stage of Pope Francis’s pontificate

The Pontificate of Pope Francis has initiated a new stage marked by a significant turn after his return to the Vatican after to spend 38 days admitted in the Gemelli hospital in Rome after a serious respiratory infection that later resulted in bilateral pneumonia.

This period, defined by the fragility of his health, has brought alterations that could redefine the course of his papacy. The new situation influences its government model, causes adjustments on its agenda and the rhythm of activities, as well as notable changes in the Vatican ceremonies and structural novelties in the Santa Marta house.

News in Santa Marta

The suite 201 of Casa Santa Marta, where Pope Francis lives, has been adapted to respond to his new needs after his return to the Vatican on March 23.

This residence, located on the south side of the Basilica of San Pedro, was chosen by the Pontiff as his home since the beginning of his pontificate in 2013 instead of the papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace.

The building of the Santa Marta house, built in 1996 to house the cardinals during the conclave, has rooms, private studies, a chapel and common areas. On the second floor are their room, those of its three secretaries and some meeting rooms.

Pope Francis occupies a kind of suite of three spaces that measures 90 square meters. From there this period of convalescence will continue in which at the moment it is expected to continue using the nasal cannulas through which it receives high flow oxygen.

One of the fears of the medical team is that during its convalescence in the Vatican, it is infected with other viruses that can slow down their improvement process or drastically worsen their health. To avoid this, doctors have recommended to limit visits to favor a complete recovery.

In fact, during the next weeks, Pope Francis does not plan to leave Santa Marta, even for meals. Although there will be exceptions, as happened last Sunday when He reappeared by surprise In the Plaza de San Pedro to participate in the jubilee of the sick. In a wheelchair and accompanied by his personal nurse, Massimo Strappetti, the pontiff reached the main altar. After the Mass, he blessed with difficulty the faithful present in the Plaza de San Pedro.

In this period you will not be able to meet with large pilgrim groups, which will limit their participation in the Jubileo de La Esperanza, nor receive families with young children, as their doctors announced before discharge.

Pope Francis was scheduled on April 8, he would receive the King of England Carlos III and his wife Camila in the Vatican, but finally Buckingham Palace has postponed the visit.

The doctor who coordinated the medical team that has treated the bilateral pneumonia of the Pontiff, Sergio Alfieri, requested the “help of all” to avoid “visits and meetings” and thus accelerate recovery.

Since the end of March, the second floor of Casa Santa Marta is reserved exclusively for the Holy Father. As confirmed by a resident of Santa Marta to ACI Press, tenants have been asked to avoid approaching the second floor, although they have not been demanded by the use of a mask.

Medical equipment available 24 hours

His residence in the Vatican has not required special modifications, except for the presence of a medical team available 24 hours.

“The Pontiff is almost 90 years old and is a very fragile person from the immune point of view because he has been supplied with cortisone and other drugs that depress the immune system, which makes it more vulnerable,” says Dr. Matteo Bassetti, director of infectious diseases of the San Martino de Genova Hospital, in statements to ACI Press.

The Holy Father continues with pharmacological therapy and physiotherapy in his own home. As Dr. Bassetti said, the respiratory gymnastics exercises that he has to perform consists of “blowing hard in a tube so that he trains the lungs to expand his thoracic capacity.”

The main objective of these exercises, he said, is to make it “more independent” of oxygen.

A new way of exercising your ministry

Although the Pontiff has resumed some activities during his hospitalization, it is not yet clear when he can fully resume his public functions, including important events such as Holy Week celebrations.

Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández He affirmed that the Holy Father It has a great capacity to “get something beautiful from the darkest moments” and therefore said that, from this experience “it will be very good … we do not know what it will be, but it will be, let’s say, the surprises of Pope Francis,” he added.

For his part, the Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, confirmed that “the office of the office will continue: we will meet with him or send him files that he can decide”, although only when necessary.

In this sense, Cardinal Parolin clarified that the Pontiff “never stopped governing the Church, even during the days of his hospitalization in the Gemelli.”

In an interview granted to Corriere della Sera In Italythe purple explained that, in some particular cases, Pope Francis can transfer some of his powers, for example in the case of canonizations.

“It is the Pope who pronounces the formula, but that also, if necessary, can be delegated to a collaborator who pronounces it on behalf of the Pontiff,” said the Purpurado Italian.

The formula referred to by the cardinal is the text that the Pope reads during the canonization rite, when he registered – with the authority of Christ and the apostles San Pedro and San Pablo – to a blessed in the book or catalog of the saints.

For his part, the archbishop of Siena, Cardinal Augusto Paolo Lojudice, told ACI Press that in this new phase of the pontificate Pope Francis will have to find “a new way of exercising his ministry in a different way.” As “any human being,” he says, he must face old age and its consequences.

“The important thing is that he, with his great serenity, will do everything possible to be present and guide the church in the best possible way,” he says.

In this regard, he assured that it was clear that his return to the Vatican did not mean that he could resume the frantic rhythm he was accustomed to before his hospitalization, with more than five daily appointments.

On February 14, when he entered the Gemelli with an acute phase bronchitis, the Pontiff fulfilled all the commitments of his agenda. He met with the prefect of Dicastery for Evangelization, Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle; with the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, Robert Fico; With the president and general director of the CNN news chain, Mark Thompson; and with members of the Gaudium et Spes Foundation, before which he even took strength to pronounce a brief speech.

According to Cardinal Lojudice, the challenges facing the Holy Father are not “extraordinary”, but the normal ones that anyone faces when it reaches a certain age.

“It was clear that we were not going to see the Pope out of the hospital jumping and shouting. He is a man, a person, even if he is the Pope,” he says.

The closeness of the Pope to the Church is not only physical

One of the most characteristic aspects of Francisco’s pontificate has been his physical closeness with the faithful. A pastoral style, which, due to the limitations of its convalescence, will have to change.

“There is a time for everything. We should not think that the Pope’s closeness to the Church depends solely on his physical presence,” says Cardinal Lojudice, who compares it to the work of the monks and closing nuns.

“Apparently they are separated from the world, but in reality they are a close presence that accompanies everyone in another way. In the same way, Pope Francis will find his way to continue guiding the Church in this rest period”, Insists.

However, it is evident that beyond the practical challenges, Pope Francis’s health raises a deeper reflection on the meaning of the Petrino Ministry. For Cardinal Lojudice, this stage could be seen as an opportunity to rediscover the role of the Pope from a new perspective.

“It is a different way to be in charge of the Church, but that is still valid. It reminds me of a grandfather who, although aged or even with a disability, continues to play his role inside the family,” he said

Presence in the midst of suffering

The Prelate said that the Catholic Church has already lived similar situations in the past, especially in the last years of the Pontificate of San Juan Pablo II.

“Compared to the last years of John Paul II, Francisco is in very good condition. Those were difficult years in which the Pope remained a presence, even in the midst of his suffering,” he said.

He also explained that while Benedict XVI made a different decision, opening a new path with your resignationthis does not have to be the decision that all its successors adopt. “It is such a deep and personal discernment that it only corresponds to the Pope and the Holy Spirit. No one else has the right to comment on it,” he emphasized.

“Francisco has always been very attentive to the voice of the Holy Spirit, and will know how to discern what is best for the Church and for his own mission. His life and his ministry are still a testimony of faith, even in moments of difficulty,” concluded the cardinal.