Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni announced earlier on Saturday: “Due to a mild flu, as a precautionary measure, the Pope has canceled today’s scheduled audience.” The Pope began a week of Lent last Sunday. During this period, he did not hold any public meetings, and he did not even hold a public audience on Wednesday.
The 87-year-old Francis, who will turn 11 when he becomes pope on March 13, was due to resume his normal work schedule this Saturday, but “as a precaution” he thought it would be appropriate to keep a day’s rest. The only public meeting announced today was a dialogue with the Roman deacons, but that meeting has been postponed.
Observant Vatican observers did not miss Francis’ absence from Cardinal Raniero Cantalamesa’s first of four Lent meditations this Friday morning, which the pope has never missed in any year. . Many used mental exercises to prove this, but now it’s clear he may have been feeling terrible this Friday.
Vatican sources assured that the Pope’s agenda for this Sunday, which includes praying the Angelus at noon from the window of his study in front of the Apostolic Palace, remains “for now” unchanged.
Francis has likely been suffering from a cold since celebrating Mass on Ash Wednesday in the chilly Basilica of Santa Sabina. This explains why he gets a cold every year a few days after this annual ritual.
I had lung problems a few months ago.
Regardless, the news raises certain expectations. More than a month ago, on January 12, the pope explained that he was not avoiding reading the speech because of “mild bronchitis,” but then did not interrupt his schedule. “I have a problem, mild bronchitis, I can’t speak very well, it’s very difficult for me to speak,” he defended himself at one of the meetings.
The situation that affected him was slightly more serious on November 25, when his spokesperson also announced that he had “mild flu-like symptoms” and that they decided to perform a CT scan of the lungs to rule out serious lesions and “rule out risks.” complications. Doctors were reassured by the test results at the time. However, what turned out to be lung inflammation prevented him from reading a speech aloud for a week, and until December 8, he avoided appearing outdoors to avoid “exposure to fluctuating temperatures.” Environment”.
Also in November, the pope reviewed his medical history in an interview with Italian public television Rai. He later explained that long trips still require a wheelchair, but “the knee problem is improving and now I can walk just fine.” He also recalled that he “had two stomach surgeries: the first (July 2021) June) for transverse colon diverticulitis, they removed a few centimeters of the intestine, and then when they opened up your abdomen, what happened. Another time, (June 2023) they took a bath in there. They washed away what had formed of adhesions. “Now I’m fine, I can eat anything. ” Bronchitis is not included in the list, indicating that they are not considered relevant to their environment.