Pope Francis said on Saturday that he was suffering from bronchitis and that he wanted to have his address read by a collaborator at the inauguration of the Judicial Year at the National Court of Justice in Vatican City, after several days of contracting the flu and going to the hospital for tests.
“I have prepared a speech. But, as you can see, I cannot read it because of bronchitis. “I ask Bishop (Filippo) Ciampanelli to read it,” the pope said, his voice a little Influence.
Still, the pope maintained his agenda today, holding several hearings in addition to the judicial inauguration. Pope Francis, still tired from days with the flu, delivered a few greetings but then allowed Monsignor Ciampanelli to read prepared remarks.
Also this Friday, it was this same collaborator who read out the speech, although he kept all planned events.
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin assured on Thursday that Pope Francis “feels well” and that the test he underwent at the Gemelli Hospital on Tiber Island in central Rome was “routine.” influenza.
«The Holy Father is good. I saw him last night. “He had a routine visit and told me that there was nothing wrong with him and that he had recovered from the flu,” Parolin said in a statement to TV2000.
Last Monday, the Vatican reported that “mild flu-like symptoms persisted, although there was no fever,” but planned hearings were suspended as a precaution.
Pope Francis relapses
It is worth noting that at the end of November, Pope Francis suffered from bronchitis and had to cancel some events and celebrate the Angelus privately. He also needed a collaborator to read his speech.
In order to allow himself to recover, the Argentine pope canceled his planned trip to Dubai for a climate summit in early December.
But he later fully recovered and even went to the Plaza de España on December 8 to pay his traditional homage to the Immaculate Conception.