Pope Francis, 85, canceled several engagements due to ‘sharp’ knee pain, but nevertheless visited the Russian Embassy on Friday to express ‘concern’ over the invasion of Ukraine , announced the Vatican.
“Due to acute knee pain, for which the doctor has prescribed a period of greater rest for his leg, Pope Francis will not be able to travel to Florence on Sunday February 27, nor preside over the Ash Wednesday celebrations on February 2. March,” the Vatican said in a statement.
At the Russian Embassy
However, the sovereign pontiff went to the Russian embassy to the Holy See in Rome on Friday morning, where he stayed “a little more than half an hour”, in order to “express his concern” over to the war in Ukraine, announced the press service of the Vatican.
On Wednesday, he called for making March 2, Ash Wednesday marking the start of Lent for Catholics, a day of “prayer and fasting” for peace in Ukraine, hours before the start of Moscow’s invasion of the country. .
Several health problems
At the end of January, Francis had already admitted to suffering from a “knee problem” which had prevented him from going down to greet the faithful at the end of his weekly general audience at the Vatican.
On Wednesday, during the weekly general audience, the Holy Father appeared slightly diminished but nevertheless greeted the pilgrims present in the Paul VI hall, as usual. c, also suffers from chronic hip pain which causes him to limp and was hospitalized for ten days in July after undergoing delicate colon surgery under general anesthesia when he suffered from potentially painful inflammation of diverticula, hernias or pockets that form on the walls of the digestive tract. His state of health is regularly the subject of rumors in the Vatican, especially among his detractors.