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After an event to show solidarity with coronavirus sufferers, the Pope was forced to cancel a planned mass in Rome after he started showing signs of illness.
Pope Francis, 83, didn’t attend the event on Thursday morning at the St John Lateran basilica on account of having a slight indisposition. The Vatican hasn’t stated the nature of his illness, but the Pope was seen blowing his nose and coughing during the Mass on Ash Wednesday.
He had been scheduled to meet with Rome clergy to celebrate the start of Lent with a penitential Mass. A spokesman said that Pope Francis preferred to stay within the Vatican, and not travel across the city.
The pope first started to show signs of being sick just one day after he met with crowds in St Peter’s Square, where he touched faces and kissed heads. He said he had solidarity with people who were suffering from coronavirus.
“I would like to express my closeness to the coronavirus patients and to the health workers who are treating them, as well as to the civil authorities,” said Pope Francis.
Of the 12,000 people who appeared to see him that day, only a few were wearing face masks. While the Pope is known for his reticence for letting people kiss his ring to help avoid the spread of germs, he does accept kisses on his forehead or cheek and often hugs the faithful.
In a homily on Ash Wednesday, Pope Francis urged followers to “switch off the television and open the Bible,” and also asked them to avoid trolling people on social media for Lent.
He also emphasized that he believed there was too much “verbal violence” in the world, that was only “amplified by the internet.”
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So far, Rome has had three cases of coronavirus. All three were cured – but Italy remains in the grip of the coronavirus outbreak. Travelers from the region have been spreading the infection, and some towns in the north have been placed on lockdown.
50 more cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Italy, which includes eight children. This takes the case toll past 370. So far, twelve patients have died from the infection. A woman even recently caught the coronavirus twice, which is worsening fears of how far coronavirus will spread.
The Pope has generally been healthy, aside from suffering from sciatica and losing part of one of his lungs when he was young. Here’s hoping his cold and flu symptoms go away soon and that he’ll be back in good health in no time.
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