Pope Francis looks tired and breathless during weekly audience: ‘I’m still not feeling well with this flu’

he Pope Francis held his weekly general audience at the Vatican on Wednesday but said he still felt unwell and asked aides to read his comments the day after canceling a trip abroad.

The 86-year-old Argentinian pope appears tired and Difficulty breathing Speaking before a Vatican audience, he said: “I’m not recovered from this flu yet.”

The Argentinian Pope will celebrate his 87th birthday on December 17. He lost part of his lungs since he was a child. At the end of the hour-long event, he coughed., while offering some final comments. Then he stood up from his chair on stage and blessed those present.

with a The voice is weak, more whisperFrancis told attendees that his speech would not read “beautifully” “because I am not well”. He then handed the printed speech to an assistant.

like he said Holy Seethe pope suffers from lung inflammation.

Pope, suffering lung inflammationhe did not read the catechism and greetings to the faithful, But he did want to read calls for peace in the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.

Francisco Urges continuation of ceasefire in conflict ring in order to continue the release of all hostages and the provision of humanitarian aid”, during the public audience held in the Paul VI classroom.

“Let us continue to pray for the dire situation in Israel and Palestine. For peace, please. “I hope for a sustained truce in the country to release all hostages and receive necessary humanitarian aid. “Francisco said in a weak voice.

“No water, no bread. “People suffer”he claimed.

He explained that he had contacted the Catholic Diocese of Gaza, where hundreds of people are seeking refuge, and they told him, “There is no water, there is a lack of bread,” adding: “People are suffering. “Ordinary people, townspeople, are suffering. “

He then assured that the only people who did not suffer from the war were a group of “people who won a lot: the weapons manufacturers, who made a lot of money at the expense of other people’s deaths.”

Francisco Since the conflict began, he has used audiences and the Angelus to pray for peace, and during his final Sunday prayers he celebrated “the truce that the two sides have finally reached.” Israel and Palestine Some hostages have been released. “

“Let us pray that they all become so soon: let us think of their families. More humanitarian aid in Gaza and we insist on dialogue: this is the only way to achieve peace. “Those who don’t want dialogue don’t want peace” noted the pope in a message read by his collaborators

Although the Pope announced on Tuesday that he was canceling his trip to Dubai to attend the climate summit COP 28 Following the advice of doctors, the Argentine pope yesterday kept some events on his agenda, such as meetings with Spanish bishops or victims of abuse in France, and today he held an audience.

Furthermore, today the Pope enjoyed Short exhibition of circus artists Join the Italian Got Talent Festival and thank you “The joy of this moment” and promised the circus “Expresses a dimension of the human soul.”

Francisco was amused by the performances of acrobats, acrobats and clowns who performed before him and later expressed his admiration for them “Dimensions of the Human Soul” The “freedom and simple joy of the circus is created by the mystery of the game.” “I’m so grateful to these girls, these boys, they make us laugh, but they are examples of very hard training, because of being able to do them What was done, it was a very, very rigorous training,” the pope said, applauding them.

He also chaired the Scottish Football Club celticsIn a private interview with Lazio, who lost to Lazio (0-2) in Rome on Tuesday, he told them about The importance of sportsmanship Higher than victory itself.

“Good morning. Sorry, I have a cold and I can’t talk much, but I feel much better than yesterday. I want to say one thing. In sports, perhaps the most beautiful thing is freedom, the beauty of playing togetherhe commented in Italian.

“Please never lose your amateur spirit, sport is sport for sport’s sake. It means a lot. I thank you for that. Whether you win or not, it doesn’t matter. Everyone plays to win, but winning is not the end, nor Probably a failure. Victory is achieved by playing together and working as a team” added the pope.

The Pope greeted the members of the Scottish expedition who came to attend the meeting one by one, and before bidding farewell, he asked them to bring him Scottish specialties next time.

“As far as I know, your land has a very important specialty, a special ‘milk’ (referring to Scotch ‘whiskey’)… a little bit will do!” he said.

Vatican announced on Tuesday that doctors asked Pope Canceled three-day trip to attend the United Nations Climate Conference, called COP28, held in Dubai. The trip begins on Friday, with the pope returning to Rome on Sunday.

Francis, who has made protecting the environment a papal priority, hopes to participate in some way at the COP in the United Arab Emirates, according to the Vatican. It was unclear whether he would be able to attend the speech via video conference or other means.

The pope accepted the doctor’s request “with great regret,” according to the Vatican.

The pope was hospitalized earlier this year and received intravenous antibiotics to treat bronchitis reported by the Vatican.

The pope is receiving intravenous antibiotics to treat the flu, according to the Holy See. During a television appearance on Sunday, he could be seen with an intravenous cannula in his right hand. Francis noted that on November 25, Francis underwent a CT scan at a hospital in Rome, which ruled out the possibility of pneumonia.

(With inputs from AP and EFE)