The Pope’s ongoing struggles with mobility and respiratory issues were evident as he struggled to board his popemobile after addressing today’s weekly audience at the Vatican.
Even though it was cold in St. Peter’s Square, the event was conducted outside for the first time this year.
The 87-year-old pope had to have an aide read his catechism lesson to his weekly general address. They announced that he had “a cold.”
No one knows what Francis was tested for when he visited a Rome hospital last Wednesday; the findings are still under wraps. His illness this winter has been sporadic, spanning from what he and the Vatican have described as a cold to bronchitis and the flu.
Pope Francis had to cancel his trip to the Gulf at the last minute due to severe, contagious bronchitis. A CAT scan late last year ruled out pneumonia.
Additionally, Francis has been dealing with a knee fracture and ligament irritation since 2022, which necessitated the use of a wheelchair, which he has continued to use. However, using a walker or cane and other aids, he has been able to rise to a standing position and go about with relative ease.
Even when he’s well, the Argentine pope often talks in a low voice due to his history of having a portion of a lung removed when he was younger due to a respiratory ailment.
He underwent surgery to fix an abdominal hernia and remove scar tissue from his intestines last year, and in 2021, he had a section of his colon removed.
On Wednesday, even with the handrails, Francis still seemed unable to ascend the few stairs to his popemobile. As soon as the attendants returned his wheelchair to him, he sat back down in it. After waving to the onlookers, he was escorted off the square.
