Pope Francis skips reading at audience, says he still has a cold

28/2/2024 18:53

        Pope Francis skipped a reading at his Wednesday weekly audience, delegating the task to an aide and telling the faithful he was still not well.
        
        The 87-year-old pontiff, who has had a number of health issues recently, had cancelled appointments on Saturday and on Monday due to what the Vatican called a mild flu.
        
        On Sunday, he addressed crowds in St Peter's Square as normal, to deliver his Angelus message.
        
        "Dear brothers and sisters, I still have a bit of a cold", Francis said, announcing that someone else would read his catechesis on envy and vainglory, two of the seven deadly sins.
        
        The reading was about one page long.
        
        The Vatican said, the pope did not read either a speech for a meeting earlier Wednesday with Armenian bishops, leaving that too to an aide.
        
        The pope did speak at the end of his audience, his voice sounding hoarse and coughing a bit, to greet some of the faithful and issue calls for peace, as is customary.