The appointment comes as the 85-year-old pope suffers from knee pain that has forced him to cancel several events. He also admitted last week after a trip to Canada that he needs to slow down or even start thinking about retiring. “The Holy Father appointed Massimiliano Strappetti, coordinator nurse of the Directorate of Health and Hygiene, as his personal assistant in the field of health,” the Vatican said in a brief statement. Ms Strappetti was widely recognized as the Vatican hospital nurse who was hailed by the Pope in an interview last year for persuading him to undergo surgery for inflammatory bowel disease. “He saved my life!” the Pope told Spanish Radio Cope after his July 4 operation. He added that the nurse had been there for three decades and was a “person with a lot of experience”.
