Eight years after the resignation of Benedict XVI for health reasons, the rumor of a departure of Pope Francis after Christmas has recently surfaced. At least, this is what the British journalist Austen Ivereigh, who has studied the Argentine Pope and to whom he has devoted several books, believes.
Ivereigh has also long worked “in close collaboration” with the Vatican, according to information from CNews. He said that Pope Francis could resign before the end of the year: “I don’t think there is any doubt that he will resign in 2020.”
The current Pope has already raised the issue. In fact, in 2014, during an interview given to Mexican television, Pope Francis had said that his pontificate would be brief. “I have the feeling that my pontificate will be short, four or five years. (…) I have the impression that God put me there for a short mission.”
Regardless, recent Vatican statements seem to undermine the British journalist’s claims. In early December, the Holy See announced that the Pope would be visiting Iraq in March 2021, for his first trip abroad since the Coronavirus.