Pope Francis has appointed a “personal health care assistant,” the Vatican announced on Thursday.
As the 85-year-old pope experiences mobility issues, he has chosen Massimiliano Strappetti, a Vatican nurse whom the pope has credited with saving his life, to offer more support.
Following his colon surgery last summer, Pope Francis told Spanish COPE radio, “A nurse, a man with a lot of experience, saved my life.”
According to La Repubblica, Strappetti recommended Pope Francis to get tested when his first diverticulitis flare-up occurred in February 2021. He advised the pope to have surgery to prevent the issue from getting worse, together with the other members of the pope’s medical staff.
The Vatican nurse was also a member of Pope Francis’ medical team on his trip to Canada, accompanying the 85-year-old pope in a wheelchair for several of his public appearances..
In his new position, Strapetti will collaborate with Dr. Roberto Bernabei, a professor of internal medicine and geriatrics at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome, who serves as Pope Francis’ personal physician.
The 52-year-old nurse spent eight years in the intensive care unit at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital before beginning employment at the Vatican in 2002. He coordinated the nurses in the Vatican’s healthcare system and was heavily involved in the charity hospital for the destitute run by the Vatican.
A few days after telling reporters on his flight home from Canada that he would need to slow down a bit with his travel plans due to his health, Pope Francis appointed the new medical assistant on August 4.
Since May, when he started receiving medical treatment for a knee injury, the pope has alternated between using a cane and a wheelchair during his public appearances. Due to his health, Pope Francis also delayed trips abroad to South Sudan and Lebanon.
“I don’t think I can move at the same pace of travel as before,” the pope said during an in-flight press conference on July 30.
“I think that at my age and with this limitation I have to cut back a little bit to be able to serve the Church or on the contrary think about the possibility of stepping aside.”