Pope Francis Strengthens New Speculation About the Future of the Pontificate –

Rome (AP) – Pope Francis has joined rumors about the future of his pontificate, announcing that in August he will visit L’Aquila, a city in central Italy, for a party hosted by Pope Celestine V. , one of the few popes to go. resign. Benedict XVI resigned in 2013.

The Italian and Catholic media have been fueled by unfounded speculation that 85-year-old Francesco may have planned to follow in Benedict’s footsteps, due to growing mobility problems that forced him to use a wheelchair. last month.

These rumors intensified last week when Francis announced the creation of 21 new cardinals scheduled for Aug. 27. Sixteen of them are under 80 years old and could vote in the conclave to choose his successor. Francis.

Once added to the ranks of church leaders, the Francis College of Cardinals will gather 132 of the 132 cardinals of voting age. Although there is no guarantee of how the cardinals will vote, the chances are growing that they will get an heir who shares Francis ’pastoral priorities.

Announcing the constituency on Aug. 27, Francis also announced that he would host two days of talks next week to inform cardinals of his latest apostolic constitution, which reforms the Vatican bureaucracy. The document, which will go into force on Sunday, allows women to lead Vatican offices, imposes time limits on Vatican clergy and puts the Holy See as an institution in the service of local Churches and vice versa.

Francis was elected Pope in 2013 with a mandate to reform the Roman Curia. Now that the nine -year project has been completed and, at least in part, implemented, Francis has somehow been fulfilled as the Pope’s primary task.

All of this showed that Saturday’s routine talk on a pastoral visit to L’Aquila carries more speculation than otherwise.

The time is remarkable: the Vatican and the rest of Italy are usually on vacation from August to mid-September, all businesses except important businesses are closed. The meeting of the main consistory in late August to form new cardinals, the gathering of Church ministers during two days of negotiations on the implementation of its reform, and a symbolically important pastoral visit indicate that Francis was there may be an unusual task in mind.

“With today’s news that @Pontifex is going to L’Aquila in the middle of the August Consistory, it has become even more intriguing,” Vatican commentator Robert Mickens wrote, linking to an essay published in La Croix International. It revolves around the future of the pontificate.

The Basilica of the Aquila contains the tomb of Celestino V, a traitorous pope who resigned five months later in 1294, busy with activities. In 2009, Benedict visited L’Aquila, which was devastated by a recent earthquake, and prayed at Celestine’s grave, that he would steal the pallium.

No one appreciated the importance of this gesture. But four years later, the 85-year-old Benedict followed in Celestine’s footsteps and resigned, saying he no longer had the physical and mental strength to cope with the papacy’s hardships.

The Vatican announced on Saturday that Francis will travel to L’Aquila to celebrate Mass on Aug. 28 and open the “Holy Door” in the Basilica where Celestine’s tomb is located. The time coincides with the feast of the Church of L’Aquila on the Feast of Forgiveness, created by Celestino on the throne of the Pope.

None of the popes went to L’Aquila to celebrate the annual feast, which reveals the secret of forgiveness that Francis dearly loved, said the current archbishop of L’Aquila, Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi.

“We hope that all people, especially those affected by internal conflicts and conflicts, can (come forward) and find a way of unity and peace,” he said in announcing the visit.

Francis praised Benedict’s decision to resign by calling it “opening the door” for future popes to do the same, and from the beginning he envisioned a short period of pontificate for himself from two to five years.

Nine years later, Francis has shown no sign of resigning and still has big plans on the horizon.

In addition to his upcoming trips to Congo, South Sudan, Canada and Kazakhstan, he has scheduled a global conference of bishops in 2023 to discuss the growing decentralization of the Catholic Church and the implementation of its reforms.

But Francis was bothered because of stretched ligaments in his right knee, which made it painful and difficult to walk. He told friends he didn’t want to undergo surgery, because of his reaction to anesthesia in July last year when the 33-centimeter (13-inch) colon was removed.

This week, one of his closest advisers and friends, Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras, said the pope’s resignation speech or the end of the Franciscan pontificate had no basis.

“I think they’re optical illusions, brain illusions,” Maradiaga told Religion Digital, a Spanish-language Catholic site.

Christopher Belito, a Church historian at Keane University in New Jersey, said most Vatican observers expected Francis to resign eventually, but not before Benedict’s death. The 95-year-old retired pope is physically weak but still alert and occasionally accompanies visitors to his home in the Vatican Gardens.

“He’s not going to have two ex -dads lying down,” Belito said in the email. Pointing to Francesco’s planned visit to L’Aquila, he suggested not to read too much, noting that Benedict’s move in 2009 would be missed by all.

“I don’t remember many stories when Benedict’s visit in 2009 made us think he was going to resign,” he said, suggesting that Francis ’pastoral visit to L’Aquila could be just that: a visit to the pastor. .