ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE — Pope Francis acknowledged Saturday that he can no longer travel as he used to because of stretched knee ligaments, saying his week-long Canadian pilgrimage was a “little test” that showed he needed to slow down and one day I may retire.
Speaking to reporters on his way home from northern Nunavut, Francis, 85, stressed that he had not considered resigning, but said “the door is open” and there is nothing wrong with a pope stepping down.
“It’s not strange. It’s not a disaster. You can change the pope,” he said while sitting in a wheelchair on a plane during a 45-minute news conference.
Francis said that while he hadn’t considered resigning until now, he realized he had to at least slow down.
“I think that at my age and with these limitations, I should conserve (my energy) to be able to serve the church, or on the contrary, think about the possibility of retiring,” he said.
Francis has been dogged by questions about the future of his pontificate since the first trip, in which he used a wheelchair, walker and cane to get around, sharply curtailing his schedule and ability to mingle with crowds.
He sprained ligaments in his right knee earlier this year and ongoing laser and magnetic therapy forced him to cancel a trip to Africa planned for the first week of July.
Camera men captured Pope Francis speaking aboard the papal flight on July 30, 2022. AP Pope Francis arrives in Canada to meet with former students from dormitories at Iqaluit International Airport in Canada on July 29, 2022. VATICAN MEDIA SALE /EPA-EFE/ Sh
The trip to Canada was difficult and included several moments where Francis was clearly in pain as he maneuvered himself into and out of chairs.
At the end of his six-day tour, he appeared in good spirits and energetic despite a long day of travel to the edge of the Arctic on Friday to apologize again to indigenous people for the injustices they suffered in Canada’s church boarding schools.
Francis ruled out having surgery on his knee, saying it wouldn’t necessarily help and noting he “still has some marks” from the effects of undergoing more than six hours of anesthesia in July 2021 to remove 13 inches from his colon.
“I’m going to try to keep traveling and being close to people because I think that’s a way of service, to be close. But more than that I can’t say,” he said on Saturday.
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