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.
Lindsey Graham’s Sister Announces She’s Running for Full Senate Term
Rand Paul releases docs that reveal FBI halted border inspection of virus researcher over Wuhan lab links
Johnson’s strategy to bypass Democrats’ SAVE Act blockade survives key vote, handing GOP big win
Warren’s latest ‘kiss of death’ endorsement sparks mockery over disastrous political picks
Illegal immigrant who murdered Michigan woman sues Trump, demands $75M, public apology, US citizenship
Craziest Video You’ll See Today: Trans Adult Jumps Like Toddler After ‘Misgendering,’ Dares Cop to Arrest Him, Then the Fun Starts
Five dead after group attempts to save struggling swimmer in Ohio
Democrats Make Graham Platner Replacement All But Official – Not Everyone Is Pleased
Gunman charged after wounding 9 in Tucson nightlife shooting before cop takes him down
DOJ moves to denaturalize 10 criminals, including child molesters, drug dealers, and scammers
‘Long Island Lolita’ Amy Fisher’s son charged as cops probe possible microwave link in cat’s killing
Timeline: All the incidents where US troops have been killed during the Iran war
Trump Makes It Clear Netanyahu Will ‘Not be Arrested’ After Mamdani Fantasizes About Locking Him Up
Lindsey Graham succession fight upended as Trump’s chosen successor jumps in
Christian Apologist Forced to Move After Muslims Prove His Point
"Today in Lombardy there are 406 positive cases of #coronavirus, of which 216 hospitalised." https://t.co/5OeOXeP87q
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 29, 2020
Lindsey Graham’s Sister Announces She’s Running for Full Senate Term
Rand Paul releases docs that reveal FBI halted border inspection of virus researcher over Wuhan lab links
Johnson’s strategy to bypass Democrats’ SAVE Act blockade survives key vote, handing GOP big win
Warren’s latest ‘kiss of death’ endorsement sparks mockery over disastrous political picks
Illegal immigrant who murdered Michigan woman sues Trump, demands $75M, public apology, US citizenship
Craziest Video You’ll See Today: Trans Adult Jumps Like Toddler After ‘Misgendering,’ Dares Cop to Arrest Him, Then the Fun Starts
Five dead after group attempts to save struggling swimmer in Ohio
Democrats Make Graham Platner Replacement All But Official – Not Everyone Is Pleased
Gunman charged after wounding 9 in Tucson nightlife shooting before cop takes him down
DOJ moves to denaturalize 10 criminals, including child molesters, drug dealers, and scammers
‘Long Island Lolita’ Amy Fisher’s son charged as cops probe possible microwave link in cat’s killing
Timeline: All the incidents where US troops have been killed during the Iran war
Trump Makes It Clear Netanyahu Will ‘Not be Arrested’ After Mamdani Fantasizes About Locking Him Up
Lindsey Graham succession fight upended as Trump’s chosen successor jumps in
Christian Apologist Forced to Move After Muslims Prove His Point
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.
