The 93-year-old Italian cousin of Pope Francis is worried about the health of the 88-year-old head of the Catholic Church.
“We are all very worried. We hope that he recovers quickly and gets through this difficult time,” the Italian news agency ANSA quoted Carla Rabezzana as saying.
Francis was born in Argentina, but his father came from the Piedmont region of north-western Italy and emigrated from there to Argentina in 1932 with his parents, Francis’s grandparents. Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the pope’s real name, said he was in regular contact with his distant relatives in Italy.
Rabezzana lives in the village of Portocomaro near the city of Asti, which is where Francis’ father, José Mario Francisco Bergoglio (1908-1959), was born.
Others in the village are also concerned. “We are all praying that he will be healthy again when he leaves the hospital,” a Portocomaro resident said according to ANSA. “We are very close to the pontiff. Everyone in the village is afraid that he is not doing well.”
