"Severe cold"

Concern about the Pope: lecture canceled at short notice

Francis not only suffers from respiratory problems, but also from severely restricted mobility (symbolic image).

(Bild: AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, file)

Pope Francis has caught another severe cold. The 88-year-old head of 1.4 billion Catholics decided not to read out a text himself at the weekly general audience in the Vatican. In his place, a priest read the statement from the page.

Due to his ailing health, Francis has had to change the program several times in the past. His respiratory tract has been bothering him for some time during the prolonged winter.

With this severe cold, I find it difficult to speak.

Papst Franziskus entschuldigt sich für den Vortrag

Substitute reads statement instead
During Wednesday's appearance, the pontiff said: "I would like to apologize. With this heavy cold, it is difficult for me to speak. That is why I have asked one of my confreres to read the catechesis. He will read it better than me." As is usually the case at official appointments, he sat in a wheelchair.

Second oldest pope in history
At the age of 88, Francis is now the second oldest Pope in history. Born in Argentina, he succeeded Benedict XVI in office in 2013. According to Vatican records, only Pope Leo XIII was even older: the Italian died in 1903 at the age of 93. Although Francis' predecessor Benedict was 95, he had already stepped down nine years before his death on New Year's Eve 2022.