Pope Francis from the Vatican has reportedly already signed his resignation letter to step down from his position if his health deteriorates and impairs his ability to do so in the future.

The Vatican leader revealed that he had already signed the document during an interview with Spanish news outlet ABC, which was published on Sunday. At the time, the pope was asked what would happen if he was suddenly unable to perform his duties due to health issues or an accident.

Pope Francis' Resignation Letter

The pope said that he had written his resignation letter several years ago and given it to then-Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who resigned in 2013. Francis noted that at the time, "If I should become impaired for medical reasons or whatever, here is my renunciation."

He said he had no knowledge of whom Cardinal Bertone later gave the letter to but remembered that he handed it to him when the latter was still the Secretary of State. The pope added that his announcement of the resignation letter in the interview was the first time he has publicly spoken about its existence, as per CNN.

Furthermore, Francis said that past pontiffs Paul VI and Pious XII had also drafted their letters of renunciation in the event of a permanent impairment. The 86-year-old pope currently seems to be in good health, aside from having knee problems, which have caused him to be often seen using a walking stick or sometimes a wheelchair due to pain in his right knee.

The pope also canceled a trip earlier this year to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan after health experts said he might also have to miss a later trip to Canada unless he agreed to have 20 or more days of therapy and rest to accommodate his right knee.

According to Reuters, the existence of the letter comes as the pope has repeatedly said that he would resign from being the Vatican leader if his health were impaired from running the 1.3 billion-member Roman Catholic Church.

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Potential Medical Impediment

His answer came when he was also asked if he believed that an official norm should be established for cases when health problems or an accident impedes a pope from performing his duties.

In a previous conversation, the Vatican leader dismissed speculative reports that his resignation was imminent and repeated his stance that he might someday if his health continued to deteriorate. The last time that a pope resigned was Benedict XVI in 2013, marking the first in the previous six centuries.

Other health complications that Pope Francis included a previous surgery in 2021 to repair a bowel narrowing. About his knee's condition, the Vatican leader said, "One governs with the head, not the knee."

Under Catholic church law, a papal resignation must be "freely and properly manifested," which was when Benedict XVI startled the world when he announced his resignation to a gathering of prelates at the Vatican, NPR reported.

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