The Pope, 84, denies Italian reports he is planning to resign and says he leads a 'totally normal life' following his intestine surgery
Pope Francis is not thinking of resigning and is living 'a totally normal life' following intestinal surgery in July.
The 84-year-old hit back after reports emerged last week that he is considering following predecessor Pope Emeritus Benedict into retirement after the operation.
Speaking to Spanish radio, France said: 'I don't know where they got it from last week that I was going to resign ... it didn't even cross my mind.'
Pope Francis, 84, has denied reports that he considered resigning from his post after surgery on his intestines in July, saying the the thought 'didn't even cross my mind'
The pontiff also thanked a male nurse at the Vatican for convincing him to undergo the operation to fix his symptomatic diverticular stenosis - a condition which involves a narrowing of the colon.
Francis said he had previously been treating the illness - which can cause abdominal pain and bleeding - with antibiotics.
'He saved my life,' the pope said of a nurse.
Francis underwent surgery on July 4 and spent 11 days in hospital.
'Now I can eat everything, which was not possible before ... I lead a totally normal life,' he said, adding that 13 inches of his intestine was removed.
He further dismissed the report of his potential resignation by outlining his full schedule, with a trip to Hungary and Slovakia on Sept. 12-15 and visits to Cyprus, Greece and Malta in the pipeline.
He added that he is almost certain to attend the COP26 climate conference, which is due to take place in Glasgow in November.
Francis (pictured last month) had a 13-inch section of intestines removed during the operation to treat a condition called diverticular stenosis which involves a narrowing of the colon
Newspaper Libero reported on Aug. 23 that there was 'a conclave in the air' at the Vatican - a reference to the secret meeting at which cardinals choose a new pope when the incumbent dies or resigns.
It said that Francis had spoken of resigning, possibly to coincide with his 85th birthday in December.
'Whenever a pope is ill there is always a breeze or a hurricane about a conclave,' he told COPE.
Pope Emeritus Benedict caused a stir when he resigned from his post in 2013 citing ill health, becoming the first pope to willfully quit the job since Celestine V in 1294.
Pope Gregory XII had resigned in 1415, but did so to end the Western Schism, a split between Bishops in Rome and Avignon, both of whom claimed to be the real pope.
