Pope Francis, in new book, downplays health issues: 'I am well'

Pope Francis, who turned 88 last month and asked an aide to read a major speech last week due to a cold, says in a new book that he feels healthy and has no plans to resign as leader of the global Catholic Church.

Pope Francis, who turned 88 last month and asked an aide to read a major speech last week due to a cold, says in a new book that he feels healthy and has no plans to resign as leader of the global Catholic Church.

“I am well,” the pontiff states in an autobiography on sale in more than 100 countries on Tuesday. “The reality is, quite simply, that I am old.”

The pope, who now often uses a wheelchair due to knee and back pain, says: “The Church is governed using the head and the heart, not the legs.”

Francis, originally from Argentina and the first pope from Latin America, has led the 1.4 billion-member Church since 2013.

He has suffered from influenza and related problems several times over in the past two years. He also had surgery in 2021 to address a painful condition called diverticulitis, and again in 2023 to repair a hernia.