Pope Francis reveals the illness that forced him to cancel his meetings and prevent him from reading

Pope Francis, 87, suffers from bronchitis, as he himself said on Saturday during an event at the Vatican, where he was unable to read his speech due to a cough.

“Thank you all. I have prepared a letter, but I cannot read it due to bronchitis.” This was announced by the Argentine Pope at the opening of the judicial year in the Holy See.

The Pope, who is suffering from a minor flu illness, had to go to a hospital in Rome on Wednesday (February 28) for follow-up tests. That morning he held his general audience at the Vatican, but he did not read his text.

Francisco, who uses a wheelchair, had suffered from a series of health problems in recent years, especially in his knees, hips and colon.

He also underwent abdominal surgery in June, and in December, he had to cancel his trip to Dubai to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), the main annual climate event organized by the United Nations, due to bronchitis.

In 2020, Francisco suffered from a severe cold caused by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic at the time.. This discomfort forced him to cancel many of his meetings, in addition to his annual retreat from the Vatican.

In 2021 Part of the colon was removed due to enteritis Since 2023, the Pope has been forced to move around in a wheelchair or use a cane due to a sprain in his knee ligaments and a fracture in the joint that prevented him from walking.

When he was young, about 21 years old, he came to the Pope The upper lobe of his lung was removed. After acute pneumonia. Pope Francis He suffers from diverticulitisIt is a common disease that can cause inflammation or infection of the colon.

Since February 24, Francisco has been suffering from health complications due to a cold. However, the Vatican limited itself to giving answers about what was happeningBecause they used the excuse every day that the symptoms “continue without fever,” and for this reason they stopped some sessions. Now, it was the Pope himself who revealed the condition that led him to cancel several of his appointments.

It is not known at the present time whether Francisco will be able to continue attending the meetings he holds on March 2 or if, on the contrary, he will have to cancel them, as he has been doing in recent days, which has raised concerns about his ability to continue leading the Church. Roman Catholic.

*With information from Agence France-Presse.