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.
Feds charge illegal immigrant in Loyola student killing as attorney says prosecutors lack ‘faith’ in state
WATCH: House Democrat gets unexpected response when he asks constituents about voter ID requirements
DHS preps deportation of alleged MS-13 gang member wanted for pastor’s murder in El Salvador
What B-52 bombers bring to the Iran fight and more top headlines
Trump’s $1 billion presidential library expected to dwarf all predecessors
‘Local independent’ outlet in Virginia pushing redistricting is owned by Democratic operatives
VP Vance to meet with Viktor Orbán in Hungary days ahead of foreign nation’s elections
Celebrity chef lashes out at Trump for changing the ‘rules’ the same year as America 250
Colorado House advances conversion therapy lawsuit bill; GOP lawmaker calls it ‘slap in the face’ to SCOTUS
Artemis II crew describes life aboard Orion spacecraft on historic journey to the moon and back
Erika Kirk and Karoline Leavitt talk free thinking and faith at TPUSA college tour kickoff
Karoline Leavitt reveals ‘anti-climatic’ way Trump told her she’d be press secretary: ‘Oh, by the way’
Trump slaps up to 100% tariff on some brand-name drug imports in major America First push
Two arrested in NC after police find 13-year-old kept in dog kennel, 5 other kids in ‘filthy’ home
Heart-pounding video shows fisherman leaping into ocean to save great white shark
"Today in Lombardy there are 406 positive cases of #coronavirus, of which 216 hospitalised." https://t.co/5OeOXeP87q
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 29, 2020
Feds charge illegal immigrant in Loyola student killing as attorney says prosecutors lack ‘faith’ in state
WATCH: House Democrat gets unexpected response when he asks constituents about voter ID requirements
DHS preps deportation of alleged MS-13 gang member wanted for pastor’s murder in El Salvador
What B-52 bombers bring to the Iran fight and more top headlines
Trump’s $1 billion presidential library expected to dwarf all predecessors
‘Local independent’ outlet in Virginia pushing redistricting is owned by Democratic operatives
VP Vance to meet with Viktor Orbán in Hungary days ahead of foreign nation’s elections
Celebrity chef lashes out at Trump for changing the ‘rules’ the same year as America 250
Colorado House advances conversion therapy lawsuit bill; GOP lawmaker calls it ‘slap in the face’ to SCOTUS
Artemis II crew describes life aboard Orion spacecraft on historic journey to the moon and back
Erika Kirk and Karoline Leavitt talk free thinking and faith at TPUSA college tour kickoff
Karoline Leavitt reveals ‘anti-climatic’ way Trump told her she’d be press secretary: ‘Oh, by the way’
Trump slaps up to 100% tariff on some brand-name drug imports in major America First push
Two arrested in NC after police find 13-year-old kept in dog kennel, 5 other kids in ‘filthy’ home
Heart-pounding video shows fisherman leaping into ocean to save great white shark
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.
