Pope Francis: ‘Nun Saved My Life’

Pope Francis apparently owes his life to a nun.

The pope specifically revealed that a medication-distributing nun saved his life when he was hospitalized for a lung illness as a young man.

The information about the life-saving nun appears in a new book called The Little Flowers of Pope Francis by Vatican journalist Andrea Tornielli.

The pope, whose birth name is Jorge Mario Bergoglio, disclosed in the book that he is alive today thanks to the actions of one of the nuns in a Buenos Aires hospital:

“When I had lung problems in the hospital, the doctor gave me penicillin and antibiotics in small doses. The nun who was on the ward tripled that because she had an intuition, she knew what to do, because she was with the ill all day long.The doctor, who was very good, spent his time in a laboratory, but the nun was living on the front line and talking with those on the front line every day.”

Health could be an issue for the new pope who will turn 77 next week. Pope Francis was elected in March to succeed Pope Benedict, who also suffered from various health issues that led to his resignation.

“Francis reportedly had three cysts on his lung, before having part of the organ removed, though Vatican officials have always said they have seen him in nothing other than good health.”

In another recent revelation, the pontiff admitted that he worked as a nightclub bouncer before he became a Catholic priest.

The pope made social media headlines recently when he hugged a severely disfigured man suffering from neurofibromatosis in Vatican City.

Pope Francis seems to be enjoying worldwide popularity in part because of his often candid, unconventional actions and statements, and his general open-mindedness.

[Image via Philip Chidell / Shutterstock.com]