Pope asks aide to deliver his annual foreign policy address, tells ambassadors he's battling a cold
Pope Francis has told ambassadors accredited to the Holy See that he wasn’t up to delivering his annual foreign policy speech and asked an aide to deliver it instead
Pope Francis told ambassadors accredited to the Holy See on Thursday that he wasn’t up to delivering his annual foreign policy speech and asked an aide to deliver it instead.
A congested-sounding Francis began the speech, greeting the ambassadors gathered in the Hall of Blessings.
But just a few lines into the lengthy speech, which usually recaps highlights of the past year, the 88-year-old Francis said he was still battling a cold and handed the remarks over to an aide.
Francis, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, often suffers bouts of bronchitis in winter that leave him out of breath and make it difficult to speak at length. He has just emerged from a grueling Christmas period in which he inaugurated the Vatican’s Holy Year celebrations.
He has sounded congested in recent days but has nevertheless kept up with his typically busy schedule.
___
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.