Pope Francis at a general audience in the Vatican
VATICAN CITY, APRIL 30 (ANSA) Pope Francis revealed to the faithful during an audience on Saturday (30) that he had received medical advice not to go for a walk due to persistent problems with his right knee. The special celebration took place with pilgrims from Slovakia who were received in the Sala Paolo VI.
“I’ll greet you later, but I have a problem. This leg is not good, it is not working and the doctor asked me not to walk.
I like to go for a walk, but this time I have to obey the doctor. So I ask you to make the sacrifice of walking up the stairs, and I greet you from here, seated. It’s a humiliation, but I offer it for your country,” lamented the Catholic leader.
Usually in this type of audience between the faithful, the Pope passes by to take his place in the hall, but this time he entered from the side and alone. As he left, he was accompanied by the Director of the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household, Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza.
“I wanted to come by and say hello to you all, but I’m sending my regards from here. I pray for you, for your families, I pray for your noble people. Forward and courage! And please pray for me,” he added.
The Pope has been suffering from gonalgia for some time and the problem has even prompted him to change his schedule and celebrations to avoid worsening. For example, at the Holy Week Passion Mass, Jorge Mario Bergoglio did not follow a centuriesold tradition of the Catholic Church and did not prostrate himself to pray in front of the crucifix in St. Peter’s Basilica.
He also sat most of the time at virtually every hearing in the past month. At one of those celebrations, the Argentine said his health was “a little bit fickle” and he needed to take extra care. (ANSA).