Pope Francis hints at his future, reveals more about resignation letter

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Pope Francis discussed the future of his papacy while traveling in Africa earlier this month, giving new details on the provisional letter of resignation that he wrote early into his pontificate.

The pontiff spent early February touring multiple African nations and meeting with crowds of Catholics on a mission of peace. He attended private audiences with laity and clergy, during which he responded to a variety of questions regarding the Catholic Church and his papacy.

Discussing his own tenure on the Holy See, Pope Francis said he had no intentions of retiring and that the papacy should ideally be held until death.

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Pope Francis is offered flowers during his weekly general audience in the Pope Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023. (Massimo Valicchia/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

"I believe that the pope’s ministry is ad vitam [Latin: for life]. I see no reason why it should not be so," Pope Francis told a group of Jesuits during his apostolic journey to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

His comments first appeared in the Jesuitical publication La Civiltà Cattolica.

"It's true that I wrote my resignation [letter] two months after I was elected and delivered this letter to Cardinal Bertone. I don't know where this letter is," the pope explained. "I did it in case I had some health problem that would prevent me from exercising my ministry and was not fully conscious and able to resign."

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Pope emeritus Benedict XVI, left, speaks with Pope Francis during a papal Mass for elderly people at St. Peter's Square on Sept. 28, 2014, at the Vatican. (TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images)

"However, this does not at all mean that resigning popes should become, let’s say, ‘the fashion,’ a normal thing. Benedict had the courage to do it because he did not feel like going on because of his health. I, for the moment, do not have that on my agenda," the pope continued.

In February 2013, at 85 years old, the late Pope Benedict XVI became the first pope in centuries to resign from his post. 

The College of Cardinals elected Pope Francis to replace Benedict in the same year after a short conclave.

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Pope Francis poses for a selfie at the end of his general audience at Paul VI Audience Hall, Vatican City. (Massimo Valicchia/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

"I think that the ministry of the great patriarchs is always for life. And the historical tradition is important," Pope Francis said. "If instead we listen to gossip, then we would have to change popes every six months."

In Catholic ecclesiology, the term "patriarch" is usually given to the leader of an autonomous church. There are over a dozen distinct patriarchs within the Catholic Church — some are only honorary, while others oversee distinct churches within Catholicism such as the Coptic Catholic Church and Syriac Catholic Church.

The pope is the Patriarch of Rome and the supreme head of the entire worldwide Catholic Church.

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Pope Francis, assisted by Prefect of the Pontifical House Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza, presides over the weekly general audience on Feb. 15, 2023, at Paul-VI hall in The Vatican. (VINCENZO PINTO/AFP via Getty Images)

The comments are surprisingly definitive for Pope Francis, who has previously remained more guarded on the issue of papal resignations.

While he has applauded Benedict's decision to resign, the pope has also emphasized that he had no personal desire to step down at the moment.