'I gave the Pope a caress as a last farewell...and he passed away shortly after'

THE chief surgeon who treated the late Pope Francis has described his last touching moments with his beloved patient.

- By Giles Sheldrick

He spoke as a ring of steel was being thrown up around the Vatican last night as thousands flocked to Rome for Francis's funeral tomorrow.

But medic Sergio Alferi revealed the pontiff's passing was a much more peaceful occasion.

He said he received a call from the Pope's personal nurse in the early hours of Monday, when the religious leader had slipped into a coma.

Preparations were being made to take him back to Rome's Gemelli hospital where he was recently treated for pneumonia.

But Mr Alferi said: “We risked letting him die during transport. I explained that hospitalisation would have been useless.

“The Pope wanted to die at home. When we were at the Gemelli he always said so.

“That morning I gave him a caress as a last farewell. He passed away shortly after.”

Mr Alferi also said the head of the Roman Catholic Church had been in good spirits and “very well” last Saturday the day before he gave an Easter Sunday blessing to crowds in St Peter's Square at the Vatican and toured the piazza in his Popemobile.

Francis had even been planning a meeting on Wednesday with the team who treated him during his hospital stay.

But sadly he passed away before he could personally thank them for their care. Mr Alfieri described the moment he visited Francis again in his Santa Marta apartment on Monday morning.