He was referring to his remaining years on earth. None of us know what tomorrow is going to bring, not even you. I thought he framed that very clearly when he went on to say:
“I know, however, that the light of God exists, that he is risen, that his light is stronger than any darkness and that God’s goodness is stronger than any evil in this world, and this helps me go forward with certainty,”
I have observed, over more than a decade participating in this forum, a strong tendency for protestants to misunderstand, misinterpret, and misrepresent comments made by Catholics. I’m not sure if it’s unconscious bigotry (”it’s from a papist, so it has to be bad”) or if it’s willful maliciousness ... but it’s unmistakable.