"In 1994, when he was convalescing at Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic hospital after hip replacement surgery, the pope reassured the masses from his hospital window: 'I've never been so examined in my life, from top to bottom. I didn't even know such organs existed.'

As with the current health crisis, the question of whether the pope would be forced to step down was an issue back then. He dealt with the question with humor, joking with his surgeon about the church law that would let him resign if he became incapacitated. 'Doctor, neither you nor I have any choice. You have to cure me because there is no room for a pope emeritus,' he said."

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