POPE FRANCIS HAS suffered his second fall in as many months and bruised his forearm, the Vatican said today, adding that he was wearing a sling.
The 88-year-old, who has been in increasingly fragile health in recent years, fell at the Santa Marta residence where he lives in the Vatican but did not break any bones, the press office said in a statement.
When elected as pope in 2013, Francis chose to reside at the Santa Marta residence as opposed to the more luxurious Papal apartments so that he could live among other bishops and priests
“This morning, due to a fall at the Santa Marta house, Pope Francis suffered a contusion on his right forearm, without fractures. The arm was immobilised as a precautionary measure,” the statement read.
Despite the incident, Francis continued with his scheduled audiences, including a meeting with the president of the international Fund for Agricultural Development and the president of the UN Committee on World Food Security.
In December, the Argentine sported a large bruise on his right jaw caused by a fall from his bed.
The pope, who took over as head of the Catholic Church in 2013, suffers recurring health issues, from pain in his knee and hip to various recent episodes of bronchitis, and has relied on a wheelchair since 2022.
But Francis remains very active, completing in September a four-nation trip across Asia and Oceania, the longest of his papacy in terms of in duration and distance.
In his newly released memoir titled Hope: The Autobiography, Francis speaks about his health issues.
In July 2021, Francis underwent intestinal surgery where he had half of his colon removed due to a condition known as “stenotic diverticulitis”.
A second surgery was required in 2023.
In his memoir, Francis remarked that “each time a pope takes ill, the winds of a conclave always feel as if they are blowing”.
While Francis said the “reality is that even during the days of surgery I never thought of resigning”, he acknowledged that resigning is “always a possibility” and that should he resign, he would “remain in Rome, as emeritus bishop”.
He further writes in his memoir that while he is “well” now, “the reality is, quite simply, that I am old”.
“Indeed, it was the pain in my knee joint that I found to be the heaviest physical humiliation,” said Francis.
“It was embarrassing at first to have to use a wheelchair, but old age never arrives by itself, and it must be accepted for what it is.”
He revealed that he does physiotherapy twice a week as a result, as well as doing “as many steps as I can”.
Meanwhile, Francis also revealed in his memoir that he “had the feeling” that his papacy would be “brief, no more than three or four years”.
“I never imagined that I would have made all those journeys to more than sixty countries,” he wrote.
He added: “Our time is pressing: When you want to seize today, it is already yesterday; and if you want to seize tomorrow, it is not yet there.”
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