Pope: I might stand down if I get too tired

POPE Francis has said he would step down if he becomes too tired to perform his role.

Asked by Italian media what would lead him to resign, the Pope, 86, warned of ‘ a fatigue that makes you not see things clearly... A lack of clarity when it comes to knowing how to assess situations’.

He admitted he was ‘ a bit ashamed’ to use a wheelchair due to a knee injury. ‘I am old. I have less physical resistance, the knee [problem] was a physical humiliation, even if recovery is going well now,’ he said.

Pope Francis has been head of the Catholic Church since March 2013, and Monday will mark ten years of his papacy.

Last month he said quitting was not on the agenda, but he has continued to add to speculation that he would at some point stand down should his health worsen.

In December he revealed he had already signed a resignation letter in case of a deterioration.

The previous Pope Benedict XVI resigned in 2013 over declining health. He was the first pope to renounce the position in 598 years.