The state of health of Pope Francis, suffering from bronchitis which forced him to give up going to Dubai for COP28, is “improving”, the Vatican said this Saturday. “The Pope does not have a fever and continues to follow his treatment,” the Holy See said in a press release.
The 86-year-old Argentine pontiff will, however, on Sunday renounce reciting the traditional Angelus prayer in public in St. Peter’s Square, in Rome, from the window of the apostolic palace, “in order to avoid exposing himself to temperature jumps” .
Like last Sunday, he will celebrate the Angelus from his private residence. The prayer will be broadcast on screens in St. Peter’s Square, according to the Vatican. On Wednesday, during his traditional weekly general audience, the pope appeared tired and had his text read by one of his assistants.
A series of health problems
Francis, who had a partial lung removed in his youth, had to cancel his highly anticipated visit to Dubai from Friday to Sunday to attend the UN climate conference.
It was the Vatican’s number two, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, who read his speech on Saturday, in which the pope calls the participants in the COP to “a turning point” with a view to achieving “a decisive acceleration of the ecological transition”.
The pope, who turns 87 in December, has been affected by a series of health problems in recent years, including his knees, hips and colon. He also had hernia surgery in June. In March, he was hospitalized for three nights for bronchitis. Last Saturday, the appearance of “mild flu symptoms” forced him to cancel several commitments.