Pope Francis’ frailty sends powerful message of strength and inclusion

Pope Francis’ frailty was on full view as he left Rome’s Gemelli hospital last Sunday after five weeks battling pneumonia that nearly killed him. He could barely lift his arms to bless the crowd. His eyes were sunken, face bloated. And he visibly gasped for breath as he was wheeled back inside from the balcony.

Throughout history, the powerful have concealed their weaknesses. Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, the most photographed figure of his era, took pains to hide his lame arm. Franklin Delano Roosevelt concealed the use of a wheelchair. More recently, former President Biden shook off concerns about his cognitive abilities.

By contrast, Francis, a spiritual and not political leader, has never been shy about showing his weakness. For many, his willingness to be seen in all his infirmity serves as an example to young and old alike that fragility is part of the human condition — and should be embraced.

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“Who cares if he had sunken eyes, who cares if he looks bloated. It is part of his life story. He knows it is going to end. I saw him as living his life. He wants to keep doing what he does best,’’ said S. Jay Olshansky, a gerontologist at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Francis’ frailty is integral to his ministry of inclusion, which preaches against treating people on the margins as disposable, said Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Council for Life.

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“Fragility for us believers is not to be avoided or excluded. On the contrary it is a great teaching,’’ Paglia said in an interview. “It is in sharp contrast with an efficiency-oriented culture, with a performance culture.''

“This is not a state, or a company, it is a community of the faithful, a family. And in a family it is possible to give an authoratative leadership, also if not up to full physical strength,’’ Paglia said. He added that it was an important lesson also for young people “who should understand that they too are fragile, otherwise they close themselves off.''

Paglia this week opened a longevity summit at the Vatican, during which he underlined that as the population of elderly grows, there must be an attitude shift so that the longer life span is to be lived to its fullest.

“We need to rethink the idea of retirement. These 20, 30 years more must have also a cultural, human and spiritual weight for all the other ages. They are not disposable,’’ he said.

Dr. Francesco Vaia, an advocate of rights for the disabled, also said the pope’s message is especially crucial in an aging world.

“The theme is not only to get older, but to be active, that is to give more quality to our longer lives,’’ he said. “We are moving towards an inclusive society,’’ which is in contrast with a “throw-away world in which the weak, the disabled, the elderly are pushed aside.''

“Let’s overcome the superman and superwoman theory. We are men and women with our fragility, and disabilities,’’ Vaia said. “This pope can continue being pope.

Even the fact of seeing Francis with the nasal breathing tubes as he was driven to the Vatican normalizes a fact of life for many elderly who live with oxygen tanks. “We should not be ashamed of this,’’ Vaia said.

Pope John Paul II, too, was often praised for showing his suffering during his long bout with Parkinson’s disease. But the Vatican also went to great lengths to conceal his frailty. He was never seen in a wheelchair, for example, instead he was pushed on a rolling wooden chair or upon a moving platform.

Francis by contrast arrives at events in wheelchairs, and is seen lifted into a more formal seat for Masses or to address the faithful.

He did not shy away from showing his weakened state from the hospital. An audio recording of his barely audible, labored voice was played in St. Peter’s Square three weeks into his hospitalization as a first sign of life. It was followed by a photograph of him co-celebrating Mass, taken from behind in his personal hospital chapel.

While Francis’ appearance on the hospital balcony did not necessarily project vitality, the doctor who coordinated his hospital treatment saw it as a sign of his strength.

“You saw when he looked out, he is fragile. But his strength is that he could give, even with some difficulty, the blessing,’’ Dr. Sergio Alfieri said. “He looked at the square, and he welcomed the lady with the yellow flowers, as if to say, ‘I am maintaining a good mood.’ He is strong in this sense, a strong spirit.”