Vatican City | 23 March 2025
Pope Francis, visibly weakened, has returned to the Vatican following a prolonged five-week hospitalization for double pneumonia. Although he was discharged from Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, the pontiff—now 88 years old—required oxygen support and immediate medical attention on arrival.
This incident marks a growing concern about the future of Catholic leadership and raises uncomfortable questions about succession, transparency, and the Vatican’s real influence in shaping global morality amid rising political authoritarianism.
For a continent like Africa, where the Catholic Church has significant influence in education, health, and politics, the Pope’s deteriorating health is not just a religious matter—it is geopolitical. What happens to Africa’s millions of Catholic followers when Rome grows silent? And who decides what “moral leadership” looks like in the absence of a strong Vatican?
