He also has a personal nurse, Massimiliano Strappetti, an employee of the Vatican health system whom Francis credited with saving his life when Strappetti diagnosed the 2021 intestinal problem.
In 2022, Francis named Strappetti his “personal health care assistant.” Strappetti and Bernabei usually join Francis on his foreign trips.
July 4-14, 2021: Francis spent 10 days in Gemelli hospital in Rome for what the Vatican said was a narrowing of the large intestine.
March 29-April 1, 2023: Francis spent three days at Gemelli with a respiratory infection after feeling a sharp pain in his chest and having trouble breathing.
Jan. 24, 2023: Francis told The Associated Press that the diverticulosis, or bulges in his intestinal wall, that had prompted the 2021 surgery had returned but was under control.
