“I could die tomorrow, but it’s under control. I am in good health,” Pope Francis said in an interview published by The Associated Press on Wednesday, January 25.

The Holy Father also assured the faithful that he is in good health at 86 years old: “I am in good health. For the age I am, I am normal”.

However, in the interview conducted last Tuesday, January 17, the Holy Father said that diverticular disease “had returned.”

Pope Francis referred to diverticula, pockets that form in the walls of the intestine, for which he had to undergo surgery in 2021.

In the surgery, 33 centimeters of his large intestine were removed due to inflammation caused by the narrowing of the colon.

In addition, the Pope recalled his knee problems, which on more than one occasion have forced him to change his busy schedule and use a wheelchair during his engagements and public appearances.

He said he had a minor fracture in his right knee from a fall, which had healed without surgery with laser treatment and magnet therapy last May.

Pope Francis asked not to undergo surgery due to the consequences of the anesthesia he still suffers from since he underwent colon surgery.

It should be noted that in his last public appearances, Pope Francis appeared without a wheelchair and walked with the help of a cane.