Pope Francis is brought on stage in St. Peter's Square by his nurse, Massimiliano Strappetti, at the end of the closing Mass for the Jubilee of the Sick and Health Care Workers at the Vatican April 6, 2025. (CNS photo/Pablo Esparza) 
He is more important to the Pope than many a curial cardinal: his nurse Strappetti, who saved his life. Since the Pope’s serious lung disease, he has been more visible than ever. And makes decisions.
When Pope Francis appeared in public for a few minutes on 23 March and 6 April, a man in a suit, dark tie and tinted glasses stood behind him and handed him the microphone. This man is apparently one of the most important people in the 88-year-old Pope’s life at the moment – perhaps even the most important. His name is Massimiliano Strappetti and he is a nurse by profession. And he has saved the Pope’s life twice through decisive action.
Pope Francis himself reported on the first time in one of his countless interviews. It was a nurse who convinced him at the crucial moment that he needed to undergo bowel surgery. The operation took place in September 2021 and saved his life at the time. Looking back, the Pope reported in the interview that he often trusted a nurse more than a doctor – because he was closer to the patient. The Pope did not mention the name of his saviour at the time, but many in the Vatican knew who he meant.
Since then, Strappetti has been the Pope’s personal carer. Photos from that time show him carrying the papal briefcase and walking stick, while the Pope’s valet was still pushing the wheelchair at the time. In the meantime, it is Strappetti who pushes the Pope at crucial moments in public, and it is also he who makes vital decisions with him.
A question of life and death
Internist Sergio Alfieri is the head of the team of top doctors who cared for the Pope during his life-threatening respiratory illness at Rome’s Gemelli Clinic from 14 February to 23 March. The prominent professor recently revealed in a newspaper interview that at the most critical moment of a respiratory crisis, it was Strappetti who ensured that the treatment was continued – even at the risk of permanent damage. According to Alfieri, the Pope had authorised Strappetti to make medical decisions. And when everything was on the brink, Strappetti said: “We’ll carry on!”
Since this second life-saving operation, the carer has hardly left the side of the prominent patient, who Alfieri now classifies as a “convalescent”. Strappetti presumably also decides when and for how long the Pope, who is still at risk of relapsing, “risks” going out in public – as he did during his recent surprise appearance in St Peter’s Square. The action was apparently only decided a few hours beforehand, and the Vatican press office also found out about it virtually at the last minute. And Strappetti also has a say in whether the Pope receives a guest on a state visit or cancels the appointment.
Experience with three elderly popes
The fact that the Pope has complete trust in his carer is not only due to the fact that he has saved his life twice. The family man in his mid-50s has experience in dealing with elderly popes: when he joined the Vatican health service more than 20 years ago, he experienced the late phase of Pope John Paul II, who had been ill and suffering for a long time, and a few years later Benedict XVI, who was in poor health.
In the meantime, he has risen to become head of the nursing service in the Vatican State’s health service. Strappetti has specialised in resuscitation. This also qualifies him to care for the elderly and weakened Pope, who could become an emergency patient again at any time.