Pope Francis has acknowledged his increasingly vocal conservative critics, saying their “nasty comments” were the work of the devil and adding that “some wanted me dead” after his recent intestinal surgery.

Francis made the comments during a September 12 private meeting with Slovakian Jesuits soon after he arrived in the Slovak capital of Bratislava during his just-finished visit. A transcript of the encounter was published on Tuesday by the Jesuit journal La Civilta Cattolica, which often provides after-the-fact accounts of Francis’s closed-door meetings with his fellow Jesuits when he’s on the road.

Francis showed his dark sense of humour throughout the encounter, particularly when a priest asked him how he was feeling. The September 12-15 Hungary-Slovakia trip was Francis’s first international outing since undergoing surgery in July to remove a 33-cm chunk of his large intestine.

“Still alive,” Francis quipped. “Even though some wanted me dead. I know there were even meetings among priests who thought the pope was in worse shape than what was being said. They were preparing the conclave.”

“Patience! Thank God I’m well,” he added.

The comment was a reflection of the intense interest in the pope’s health, and the speculation about what would happen if he were to fail, that always accompanies a pontiff but is perhaps more acute with a pope who has attracted vocal opposition from part of the church. After his 10-day hospital stay, Italian media began speculating that Francis might resign.