Vatican Media/Reuters
The Pope was briefly hospitalized in March.
Rome
CNN
—
Pope Francis returned to work on Saturday morning after a fever disrupted his regular schedule and sparked new concerns about his health.
Francis canceled all his meetings on Friday morning due to illness. However, a schedule of daily appointments sent to the Vatican on Saturday shows that Francis has resumed his work.
The Vatican has not released any new updates on the health of the 86-year-old pontiff.
Francis is expected to celebrate the mass for Pentecost in St. Peter’s Square this Sunday.
On Thursday, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said Francis was “tired” after an “extreme day,” according to Italian news agency ANSA.
“The Pope is tired. Yesterday he had a very bad day and saw a lot of people. There was a meeting with the Scholas Occurrentes and he wanted to greet each person individually. At some point, one becomes less resistant,” Parolin said.
Francis was seen looking good Thursday afternoon at a live-streamed event from the Vatican for Scholas Occurrentes, an international education network he founded, according to CNN’s team on the ground.
He was hospitalized in March with bronchitis but responded well to antibiotics.
When leaving the hospital on that occasion, the Pope joked that he was “still alive.”
The pontiff – who as a young man suffered from severe pneumonia and had part of his lung removed – has a recent history of medical issues.
He is often seen with a cane and sometimes uses a wheelchair due to pain in his right knee.
Last year, he canceled a trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan after doctors said he could also miss a later trip to Canada unless he agreed to have 20 more days. therapy and resting his knee. He finally went to the DRC and South Sudan in February.
Francis also suffers from diverticular disease, a common condition that can cause inflammation or infection of the colon. In 2021, he underwent surgery to remove part of his colon.
