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.
Union-funded anti-Spencer Pratt ad sparks backlash as critics say it could help him
Students’ pre-prom gathering turns into deadly nightmare as bullets fly
Marco Rubio Reveals the Message He Delivered Pope Leo During ‘Important Meeting’ at Vatican
Mom charged with child abuse after toddler found with tattoo in ‘deplorable’ home: cops
Trump says US helped secure release of 5 prisoners in Belarus deal, thanks Lukashenko
Savannah Guthrie urges public to help find missing mother Nancy in emotional Mother’s Day post
Kristin Smart search ends with no remains found as detectives analyze evidence
Watch: MLB Team Makes ‘Middle School Mistake’ As Season Continues to Spiral
Biden seeks to block DOJ release of 2017 audio, court filing says
Should ‘The View’ Be Considered News? ABC and FCC Go to Battle Over Embattled Show
Major Evangelic Denomination Sees Memberships Fall Amid Debates Over Female Pastors, Growing Distrust
Alert: African Islamists to Begin Executing Christian Women and Children from Group of 416 Recently Kidnapped Hostages
‘Free beer’ for Trump death Dem activist running for Wisconsin gov: ‘I will win’ if they silence me
Virginia Democrats’ $70M redistricting gamble backfires after court defeat, ignites blame game
Trump-backed Board of Peace, Israel ‘will take action’ if Hamas remains out of compliance: Netanyahu advisor
"Today in Lombardy there are 406 positive cases of #coronavirus, of which 216 hospitalised." https://t.co/5OeOXeP87q
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 29, 2020
Union-funded anti-Spencer Pratt ad sparks backlash as critics say it could help him
Students’ pre-prom gathering turns into deadly nightmare as bullets fly
Marco Rubio Reveals the Message He Delivered Pope Leo During ‘Important Meeting’ at Vatican
Mom charged with child abuse after toddler found with tattoo in ‘deplorable’ home: cops
Trump says US helped secure release of 5 prisoners in Belarus deal, thanks Lukashenko
Savannah Guthrie urges public to help find missing mother Nancy in emotional Mother’s Day post
Kristin Smart search ends with no remains found as detectives analyze evidence
Watch: MLB Team Makes ‘Middle School Mistake’ As Season Continues to Spiral
Biden seeks to block DOJ release of 2017 audio, court filing says
Should ‘The View’ Be Considered News? ABC and FCC Go to Battle Over Embattled Show
Major Evangelic Denomination Sees Memberships Fall Amid Debates Over Female Pastors, Growing Distrust
Alert: African Islamists to Begin Executing Christian Women and Children from Group of 416 Recently Kidnapped Hostages
‘Free beer’ for Trump death Dem activist running for Wisconsin gov: ‘I will win’ if they silence me
Virginia Democrats’ $70M redistricting gamble backfires after court defeat, ignites blame game
Trump-backed Board of Peace, Israel ‘will take action’ if Hamas remains out of compliance: Netanyahu advisor
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.
