“Don’t link me to Argentine politics, please,” Francisco told the journalist, showing his interest that the visit not be used politically.
The pontificate of Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Catholic Church, turned 10 on March 13, a period during which he never returned to Argentina, despite having made multiple trips abroad, including Africa this year.
Many in Argentina are looking forward to the visit of ex-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio and prayed at the end of March for his speedy recovery from bronchitis, which kept him hospitalized for a few days in Rome.
Francis suffers from a persistent knee ailment that requires him to use a cane and a wheelchair, but those close to him say the leader of the world’s nearly 1.4 billion Roman Catholics is in good general health for a man his age.