With regard to convalescence, Pope Francis continues his own advice

Analysis: The Pope, who has described himself as an “impatient patient”, is not the only one among the sick, especially the elderly, who resists the directives of doctors.

The day before Pope Francis left the hospital last month, after 38 days of double pneumonia treatment, his doctors offered a press conference. They said that their recovery would require at least two months of convalescence in its Vatican residence. He should not meet with groups of people, and in particular with children, to avoid viruses and other infections.

It has not turned out like that.

During the first two weeks after his discharge, after a brief appearance on the balcony of his hospital room on the day of his departure, the Pope remained away from the public. Then, on April 6, during the jubilee of the sick and the health workers, he presented himself in the Plaza de San Pedro at the end of the Sunday Mass. He wore the nasal cannulas he uses to oxygenate and seemed tired but cheerful, with a tense voice while he wanted a happy Sunday. This appearance, that the Vatican press office had hinted in advance, generated hope that it would participate, even briefly, in at least one of the liturgies of the Pascual Triduum in Easter.

The Pope’s private meeting with the British kings three days later, after the cancellation of his official visit to the Vatican, was another sign that the situation returned to normal earlier than expected. A photo showed Pope Francis shaking the hand of Queen Camila.

But that was not a preparation for what happened the next day, when the Pope appeared in his wheelchair in the Basilica of San Pedro. The images were so extraordinary that some media doubted them for initial fear that they could be false.

In a video, Pope Francis appears without cassock or solido, with black pants and covered with a striped garment that looks like a blanket or a poncho. Greet and shake a child’s hand. The Pope’s clothing and that of two of his companions, in shirt sleeves, suggests that The visit It was an impromptu exit.

It is a notable vision of a Pope without his official clothing, comparable to the image of San Juan Pablo II in his hospital bed after his murder attempt in 1981, but even more shocking because in this case the Pope is within the Vatican. Much of the discussion about the episode on social networks focused on the Pope’s clothing, and some expressed their disapproval due to the lack of protocol. Less known was his contact with strangers. In a photo published on social networks, he also greets a young couple with a baby.

By then, it was evident that the Pope had decided to disobey the orders of his doctors. Next, he made two more public appearances during the next three days, including a visit to the Basilica of Santa María la Mayor de Rome, where he prayed before the icon of the Virgin Mary, Safety of the Roman peopleto which he has a well -known devotion.

When Pope Francis appeared in the Plaza de San Pedro at the end of Palm Sunday, stopping his wheelchair to shake the hands of several people and distribute sweets to the children, his appearance, although unexpected, did not cause great surprise and seemed almost routine. His voice was stronger and did not carry oxygen tubes.

In retrospect, all this was predictable. During the restrictions by the COVID-19, Pope Francis himself almost never used a mask, although it was mandatory for Vatican employees, and shake his hand frequently in public events. One of his Jesuit brothers recently told me that the members of his order traditionally see with suspicion the scrupulous health care. It may be an inheritance of its origins in the 16th century as intrepid missionaries in unexplored lands.

It is also evident to anyone who has observed Pope Francis over the years that he is passionate about human contact. “I can’t live without people. I need to live my life with others,” he said at the beginning of his pontificate, explaining his decision to reside in the Vatican guest house instead of the Apostolic Palace.

At the same time, the Pope, who has described himself as an “impatient patient”, is not the only one among the sick, especially the elderly, who resists the directives of doctors.

“Of course, Pope Francis should not follow the recommendations of his doctors. He is 88 years old and his health is delicate, so he should enjoy the twilight of his life. What are the medical recommendations for this heights?” Wrote the Dominican priest Peter Totleben in response to a little scientific survey on this topic that I published on the online platform X. “That is, if I were Vicar of Christ on Earth And I would like to go to pray before the icon of Salus Populi Romani, I would do it, and I don’t care if doctors want me to stay in bed all day. ”

The same survey promoted Austen Ivereight, biographer and literary collaborator of Pope Francis, to write that the Pope is guided by a sense of duty that prevails over self -preservation: “prolonging her life and her papacy is not her first priority, but the mission that God has entrusted to him. He must listen to the doctor’s advice to stay alive and carry out that mission, but he cannot commit it to live more.

That discernment could include a political calculation. After more than a month of invisibility, in the midst of much speculation about who really made decisions in the Vatican, Pope Francis could want to demonstrate not only that he is alive and squeeze, but it is he who makes the decisions. His appearance with informal clothes, which was obviously not the work of his caregivers, was a reliable proof that he is the Pope and no one else who decides what he does.

Meanwhile, the Pope continues to recover. On Tuesday, April 15, the Vatican spokesman said that his condition is improving both mobility and respiratory function.

In fact, the results of my little survey firmly supported the Pope. When asked what they thought of their repeated incursions outside their residence, only 7% of respondents described their inspiring behavior and 34% considered it reckless. However, a solid majority (59%) said it was his issue.

The verdict: let Francisco be Francisco.

Translated and adapted by the ACI Press team. Originally published in the National Catholic Register.