Pope
Francis
held the general audience this Wednesday, in which he read the appeals but not the catechisms, which he gave to a collaborator.
"I still have a bit of a cold," he commented, before
going to a hospital
in Rome to undergo medical check-ups for
the flu that has affected him for a few days
.
"After the general audience, Pope Francis went to the Gemelli Isola Tiberina hospital to undergo some
diagnostic tests
. He then returned to the Vatican," the Vatican confirmed.
Francis arrived at the center in the vehicle he normally travels in and returned to the Vatican less than an hour later.
The pontiff had already gone on another occasion to the Tiber Island hospital, a branch of the Gemelli Polyclinic where popes are admitted, to undergo a computed tomography (CT) scan when he suffered bronchitis.
Previously, he had held the general audience in the large Paul VI hall - not in St. Peter's Square - and had announced that he still had the flu without fever.
Although he did not read the catechisms, he did want to personally read the final appeals of the audience.
He also did not read his speech at the previous audience to the bishops of the Cilician patriarchal church of the Armenians, after also apologizing for his persistent flu.
The text was given to those present.
In the final appeals, Francis read his speech aloud.
He asked to pray "for the victims of the recent attacks against places of worship in Burkina Faso."
He also explained that he was praying for the people of Haiti where "crimes and kidnappings by armed gangs continue."
The Pope said out loud that March 1 will mark the 25th anniversary of the entry into force of the Mine Ban, and lamented that "they continue to hit innocent civilians, especially children, many years after the end of hostilities." .
The vehicle carrying the Pope leaves the hospital.
Photo: EFE
The Argentine pontiff expressed his sympathy for the victims of these devices "which remind us of the bitter cruelty of wars and the price paid by civilian populations."
After a
brief clearing of his throat
, he thanked "all those who are contributing to helping the victims and cleaning up the contaminated areas" because "their work is a concrete response to the universal call to be architects of peace, taking care of our brothers and sisters."
At the beginning of the general audience, he said:
"I still have a bit of a cold and that is why I have asked Monsignor Ciampanelli to read the catacheses
. "
Francis dedicated the catechesis of today's audience to envy and vainglory.
The papal speech, which was read by a collaborator, stated that "the face of the envious is always sad" and said his "mind is wrapped in thoughts full of evil. Envy, if not controlled, leads to hatred of the other."
Regarding vainglory, the Pope wrote that it goes hand in hand with the demon of envy and together these two vices are typical of a person who aspires to be the center of the world, free to exploit everything and everyone the object of all praise and love. .
Vainglory is an inflated and unfounded self-esteem.”
Concern for Francisco's health
In the Vatican there is moderate concern about the prolongation of the pope's respiratory problems.
On Friday, upon returning from the spiritual exercises of Lent, the Argentine pontiff had to cancel his audiences due to “a slight flu.”
On Saturday he also did not hold the scheduled audience, but on Sunday he went out to the window of his study on the third floor of the Apostolic Palace, celebrated the Angelus and transmitted his messages to the crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square.
On Monday it was announced that the health problems were continuing, so all hearings for that day were cancelled.
There were no hearings or official information on Tuesday.
Correspondent