THE Pope Francis He faced complex and serious health problems from an early age, which did not prevent him from being elected in 2013 spiritual leader of the World Roman Catholic Church.
In 1957, Pope Francis, when she was 21 years old and was still called Jorge Mario Bergolio, presented a pleuritis. He was treated with lobectomy (removal of a lobe from his lung), which left him vulnerable to respiratory infections.
Many then believed that the intervention would be a hindrance to his life, especially in terms of the adversities he would face as a priest. But he followed his inclination. He finally became the first non -European Pope of the last 1,200 years.
But his course was not easy. In 2021 he revealed that he was visiting a psychiatrist when he was a young priest. He helped him face the anxiety disorder he had at the time of the military dictatorship in Argentina.
As he had said, he had learned to sink his anxiety with various mechanisms. One of them was to listen to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, the Reuters news agency reports.
For many years, he was suffering from sciatica, which caused him unbearable hip and foot pain. Its surplus forced him to lose the functions for New Year’s Eve.
And intestinal removal
The Pope had also encountered serious gastrointestinal problems. In 2021 he underwent 33cm removal from his large intestine as he was suffering from severe diverticular disease. The surgery had lasted six hours. In 2023, however, he said the disease had relapse.
During the procedure in the large intestine, the Pope had a serious side effect on anesthesia. Because of this he refused to undergo surgery later for another serious knee problem. Instead of surgery, he was trying to treat it with laser -interventions and magnetic therapy.
In 2023 the Pope spent nine days in the hospital, where he was operated on hernia in the abdomen. His doctors had decided to operate because his hernia was causing painful bowel obstruction.
Ongoing problems
Over time, health was constantly. In 2022 his motor problems led to the cancellation of a trip to Lebanon, the People’s Republic of Congo and South Sudan. This trip to Africa finally made it in 2023.
Since the beginning of 2023 he had repetitive respiratory problems, and until his death this morning he was hospitalized several times for respiratory infections. These included acute bronchitis in 2024, which forced him to cancel his participation in important events, such as the UN Conference on Climate Change (COP28) in Dubai.
In addition, its mobility had now decreased significantly due to its musculoskeletal problems. So he used a stick and a wheelchair for his travel.
Falls and double pneumonia
In 2024 and 2025 he also had two serious falls on his home. In the first, in December 2024, he beat the jaw and wounded his hand in January.
Despite his problems, however, Pope Francis continued to fulfill his duties. On February 14th this year he was admitted to the hospital with another bronchitis, which eventually developed into pneumonia in both lungs. It also had a polymical infection.
During his hospitalization, his life was in danger. However again he came out the winner. He was discharged on March 23 with his doctors estimating that he took two months to recover.
His last public appearance made Easter Sunday morning on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica. Today, Easter Monday, at 07.35 ′ in the morning, Pope Francis died at the age of 88.
Source: iatropedia.gr