• Pope Francis signed a resignation letter in case he becomes “impaired.”
• Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican Secretary of State, wrote the letter.
• Pope Benedict XVI resigned in 2013 citing “advanced age” as the reason.

Pope Francis has disclosed in a recent interview that he has already signed the resignation letter that will be used if he ever becomes “impaired.”

Francis made the remark in response to a question on what would happen if a pope were to suddenly become unable to carry out his duties due to illness or an accident in an interview with Spanish news channel, which was published Sunday.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who left as the Vatican’s Secretary of State in 2013, received the letter, according to Francis, which he written several years prior.

“I have already signed my renunciation. The Secretary of State at the time was Tarcisio Bertone. I signed it and said: ‘If I should become impaired for medical reasons or whatever, here is my renunciation,’” Francis was quoted as saying.

“I don’t know who Cardinal Bertone has given that letter to, but I handed it to him when he was the Secretary of State,” Francis said, adding that this was the first time he had spoken publicly about the letter’s existence.

Paul VI and Pope Pius XII, according to Francis, had also written their letters of renunciation in the case of a permanent incapacity.

Except for knee issues, Francis, 86, appears to be in terrific health. Due to pain in his right knee, he frequently utilizes a wheelchair and may be seen doing so.

He postponed a trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan earlier this year after physicians warned him that if he didn’t agree to 20 additional days of rest and therapy for his right knee, he could also have to forgo a later trip to Canada.

He had surgery to remove a portion of his colon last year due to the common ailment diverticulitis.

Pope Benedict XVI, Francis’ immediate predecessor, shocked the Catholic world in 2013 by announcing his resignation from the role of pontiff and claiming “advanced age” as the reason.

Since roughly 600 years ago, a pope hadn’t resigned before. Gregory XII, the last pope to resign before his death, did so in 1415 to put an end to a church civil war in which multiple people claimed to be the leader of the church.

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