Pope Francis has said that up to this point in his papacy he hasn’t thought about resigning.
The Pope was asked about the subject by two young YouTube stars at a function at the Vatican on Sunday.
He was asked if he has ever considered resigning because he finds the demands of his job too much.
Francis, aged 79, answered in Spanish, saying, “It never occurred to me to stop being [pope] for the responsibilities.”
“Allow me a confidence,” he added as he addressed the closing of the VI “Scholas Occurrentes” workshop at the Vatican.
“It had never occurred to me that I would be elected pope,” he said.
“It was a surprise, but in that moment, God gave me a peace that lasts to this day. This keeps me going. It’s the grace I received.”
“On the other hand, I’m by nature unconscious, so I keep going,” he joked.
A report of the Pope’s remarks on the Crux website noted that “Pope Francis was not asked, and did not answer, if he’d ever consider resigning the papacy, but if he’s considered it to date”.
In an interview with a Mexican TV station last year, Pope Francis said “I have a feeling that my pontificate will be brief. Four or five years, I don’t know, even two or three.”
At the time, he also praised his predecessors’ decision to step down in 2013 as “courageous.”
“Benedict should not be considered an exception, but an institution,” Francis said at the time.
“Maybe he will be the only one for a long time, maybe he will not be the only one,” he said, adding that in any event, “An institutional door has been opened.”
Also present at the Vatican event on Sunday were Hollywood A-listers George Clooney, Richard Gere and Salma Hayek.
Sources