VATICAN CITY (AP) – Pope Francis cancelled official engagements for the third day in a row Saturday as he battled an apparent cold.
The 83-year-old pope, who lost part of a lung to a respiratory illness as a young man, has never cancelled so many official audiences or events in his seven-year papacy.
Francis is, however, continuing to work from his residence at the Vatican’s Santa Marta hotel and is receiving people in private, the Vatican press office said. On Saturday, those private meetings were with the head of the Vatican’s bishops’ office, Francis’ ambassadors to Lebanon and France and a Ukrainian archbishop.
Cancelled were his two planned official audiences — formal affairs in the Apostolic Palace where Francis would have delivered a speech and greeted a great number of people at the end. Those were to include an audience with an international bioethics organization and with members of the scandal-marred Legion of Christ religious order.
Republicans Cline and Presler rally against Virginia redistricting vote
Pennsylvania man accused of stealing over 100 sets of human remains appears in court in ‘horror movie’ case
Survey finds nearly one-third of Long Island residents say Jews should ‘move on’ from the Holocaust
DOJ Reportedly Appealing Ruling That Limits Feds’ Ability to Use Notorious Spy Tool
Homeowner Uses Shovel to Defend His Pregnant Wife and Child from Would-Be Intruder
House Hearing Witnesses Reveal How Hardworking Families Pay Higher Taxes
California regulators kill charity fireworks for America’s 250th, sparking outrage
8 children dead in mass shooting that began as domestic dispute, police say
Christian in Egypt Faces Terrorism Charges for Simply Declaring His Faith in Jesus in Legal Docs: Report
MS NOW Host Melts Down Live on Air Over Ukraine ‘Whistleblower’ Being Referred for Prosecution
Feds arrest Iranian woman at LAX for allegedly brokering weapons sales for Islamic regime
Claims of Second Sphinx Buried Under Egypt Spark Debate
RFK Jr: LA Hospice Scams Cost US $5B
Video: Christians Slaughtered on Palm Sunday in Nigeria – Ex-Football Player Doing Everything He Can to Help Protect Them
Trump ally diGenova tapped to lead DOJ probe into Brennan over Russia probe origins
"Today in Lombardy there are 406 positive cases of #coronavirus, of which 216 hospitalised." https://t.co/5OeOXeP87q
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 29, 2020
Republicans Cline and Presler rally against Virginia redistricting vote
Pennsylvania man accused of stealing over 100 sets of human remains appears in court in ‘horror movie’ case
Survey finds nearly one-third of Long Island residents say Jews should ‘move on’ from the Holocaust
DOJ Reportedly Appealing Ruling That Limits Feds’ Ability to Use Notorious Spy Tool
Homeowner Uses Shovel to Defend His Pregnant Wife and Child from Would-Be Intruder
House Hearing Witnesses Reveal How Hardworking Families Pay Higher Taxes
California regulators kill charity fireworks for America’s 250th, sparking outrage
8 children dead in mass shooting that began as domestic dispute, police say
Christian in Egypt Faces Terrorism Charges for Simply Declaring His Faith in Jesus in Legal Docs: Report
MS NOW Host Melts Down Live on Air Over Ukraine ‘Whistleblower’ Being Referred for Prosecution
Feds arrest Iranian woman at LAX for allegedly brokering weapons sales for Islamic regime
Claims of Second Sphinx Buried Under Egypt Spark Debate
RFK Jr: LA Hospice Scams Cost US $5B
Video: Christians Slaughtered on Palm Sunday in Nigeria – Ex-Football Player Doing Everything He Can to Help Protect Them
Trump ally diGenova tapped to lead DOJ probe into Brennan over Russia probe origins
On Sunday, Francis is expected to leave the Vatican with top Holy See bureaucrats for a week of spiritual exercises in the Roman countryside, an annual retreat that the pope attends at the start of each Lent.
Francis last appeared in public on Wednesday, when he was seen coughing and blowing his nose during an Ash Wednesday Mass. The following day, he cancelled a Mass across town with Roman priests and on Friday, skipped an audience with participants of a Vatican conference on artificial intelligence.
The Vatican has stressed that Francis has celebrated Mass each morning and greeted attendees at the end, and then proceeded to continue working from home.
The Vatican hasn’t revealed the nature of Francis’ illness, saying only he has a “slight indisposition.” Francis’ illness, though, has come amid general alarm in Italy over the coronavirus outbreak, which has sickened more than 800 people, most in northern Italy.
Sky News Anchor Asks if @VP Mike Pence, as a Christian, Is Fit for #Coronavirus Role https://t.co/LvOLuaS3wJ
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 28, 2020
Story cited here.
