ROMA.-Pope Francis said Wednesday that he felt “much better” after suffering from bronchitis for two weeks, although he again asked an aide to read his speech.
Francis, who had part of his lung removed when he was young, said at his weekly general audience that he still gets tired if he talks too much.
The Pope, who turns 87 on December 17, fell ill with the flu on November 25 and was forced to cancel a planned trip to Dubai to participate in the United Nations climate conference. He later revealed that he had been diagnosed with an acute case of infectious bronchitis which was causing him breathing difficulties.
It was his second major bronchitis this year, as he was hospitalized for three days in the spring to receive intravenous antibiotics.
Francis walked with a cane to the stage in the Vatican audience hall and smiled widely at the cheering crowd. He seemed in good spirits and attended to several prelates who came to speak with him privately at the end of the audience.
Explaining why he would ask his assistant to read his words, he said, “I’m much better, but I get tired if I talk too much.”
Francis then made a brief request for prayers for all those suffering from the war, including people in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza.
“War is always a defeat,” he said. “No one wins, everyone loses. The only ones who win are the weapons manufacturers.”
To avoid temperature changes that could worsen his condition, Francis has for the past two weeks offered his weekly Sunday blessing from a Vatican chapel rather than from the open window of his study overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
However, The Vatican has confirmed that Francis will make his annual visit on Friday to pray before a statue of the Virgin Mary in the Spanish Steps in Rome on the occasion of an important Catholic holiday and officially kick off the Christmas season in Rome.
The pope also plans to make another visit that day, the day of the Immaculate Conception, to the Basilica of Santa María Maggiore to pray before one of his favorite images of Mary.
Source: With information from AP
