Vatican Media/Reuters
The Pope was briefly hospitalized in March.
Rome
CNN
—
Pope Francis The Vatican said it had canceled all of his scheduled meetings on Friday morning because of the flu, again raising concerns about the 86-year-old pontiff’s health.
The Vatican press office did not provide further details on the Pope’s health.
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said Francis was “tired” after a “very intense day” on Thursday, according to Italian news agency ANSA.
“The Pope was tired. Yesterday he had a very intense day and saw many people. There was a meeting with Scholas Occurrentes, and he wanted to greet each one individually. At a certain point, one loses resistance,” said Barolin.
CNN’s team on the ground reported that Francis appeared well on Thursday afternoon at an event broadcast live from the Vatican by an international education network called Scholas Agrants.
He was hospitalized in March for bronchitis but responded well to antibiotics.
On that occasion, he left the hospital The Pope joked that he was “still alive”.
The pope — who suffered severe pneumonia as a teenager and had part of his lung removed — had a recent history of medical problems.
He is often seen with a walking stick and sometimes uses a wheelchair due to pain in his right knee.
Last year, he canceled a trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan after doctors told him he would miss a later trip to Canada unless he agreed to 20 days of treatment and rest for the knee. He finally went to the DRC and South Sudan in February.
Francis also suffers from diverticular disease, a common condition that causes inflammation or infection of the colon. In 2021, he underwent surgery to remove part of his colon.
