Pope Francis entered the hospital for treatment of bronchitis on Feb. 14. Almost two weeks later, doctors say the pope — who contracted a case of double pneumonia while at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital and experienced a “respiratory crisis” on Saturday — will remain in the facility while recovering due to his “complex” medical situation.
An extended hospital stay for one of the most important international figures in the world may raise the question: Who exactly runs the Vatican when a pope is hospitalized or unable to perform his normal duties?
Matthew Bunson, vice president and editorial director of EWTN News and the author of numerous books on Catholicism including “Encyclopedia of Catholic History,” told CNA that although Pope Francis has been in the hospital for almost two weeks, he has continued at least some oversight of Vatican affairs.
Bunson pointed to coverage by ACI Stampa, CNA’s Italian-language news partner, which reported that the pope earlier this week met with his secretaries at Gemelli while recovering from his illness.
“So he’s clearly still in touch with the Vatican and is still making decisions,” Bunson said.
In such cases, he said, “the machinery of state tends to keep functioning until such time as we enter into an interregnum” — the period in between popes.
Andreas Widmer, an associate professor of practice in entrepreneurship at The Catholic University of America’s Busch School of Business and former Swiss Guard at the Vatican, likewise said much of the Vatican’s administration continues even when the pope is sick.
“Things keep going. He is kept appraised by [Vatican officials],” said Widmer, who served as a Swiss Guard under Pope John Paul II in the 1980s and who regularly returns to the Vatican to work with the guard.
“From what I understand, the pope is still lucid and working,” Widmer said of Francis’ current hospitalization. “Maybe he doesn’t put in his 12-hour days, but he’s putting in work and meeting with people.”
In some cases, popes have addressed the possible need for resignations ahead of time. Pope Paul VI in 1965 wrote a letter to the dean of the College of Cardinals stating that, in the event of his incapacitation while in office, he should be considered resigned. (Pope Paul ultimately lived another 13 years and died while in office.)
In 2022, Pope Francis revealed that in the first year of his pontificate he signed his resignation and gave it to then-Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone to be invoked if he was medically incapacitated and unable to carry out his duties. (“I don’t know who Cardinal Bertone gave it to, but I gave it to him when he was secretary of state,” the pope joked at the time.)
However, in his biography last year, the pope said he considers the Petrine ministry to be “for life” and saw no conditions for resignation, barring serious physical impairment.
Widmer argued that popes are not given to leaving such matters unresolved one way or the other. “A pope is not going to leave this to chance. They take their responsibility very seriously,” he said.
Bunson noted the recent similar scenario in which St. John Paul II declined in health toward the end of his pontificate; during that period, he said, it was clear that preparations were being made for a possible interregnum.
“Clearly we’re not in that position yet, so the Roman Curia continues to function” as normal, he said.
In the event of a pope’s death, Bunson said, much of the immediate administration of the Vatican falls to the camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church — one of the few officials of the Vatican who does not immediately lose his job upon a pope’s death. His roles include certifying the pope’s death and overseeing the functions of the interregnum.
“It’s his job to certify the death of the reigning pope and to make sure the wishes of the pope are respected,” Bunson explained. “Then the cardinals are summoned to Rome,” after which a new pope is eventually elected.
Also retaining his title in the event of a pope’s death is the head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, the dicastery for which the chief role is the forgiveness of sins.
That official “always keeps his job,” Bunson said, “because there must always be the opportunity for God’s loving mercy.”
A second key official is the almoner of his holiness, the cardinal in charge of papal charity and care for the poor. It was Pope Francis who decreed that the almoner should keep his post, a reflection of the Holy Father’s concern for the forgotten and most vulnerable.
Though Catholics may be curious as to how the Vatican is run during a pope’s hospitalization, Widmer signalled out one rumor that he said was “complete nonsense”: The claim that the Swiss Guards are “rehearsing” for the Holy Father’s funeral.
Reports of such rehearsals have circulated in international media in recent days, with the Swiss Guard itself denying the claims.
It’s “complete garbage,” Widmer said of the rumors, arguing that the Swiss Guard is already prepared for such occurrences as a normal part of their employment.
“Nobody has to practice anything. It’s what they do for a living,” he said.
This article was originally published on Catholic News Agency.
