The Supreme Pontiff had to receive the faithful seated, due to a problem with his knee.
The Pope Francis apologized this Saturday to a group of faithful for having to receive them seated due to the problem he suffers in one leg and, although he considered it a “humiliation”, he recognized that he must obey his doctors.
“Now I will give you the blessing and we will pray together so that the Lord blesses you all. And then I will greet you, but there is a problem: this leg is not good, it does not work, and the doctor has asked me not to walk”, he said with a smile at the end of the audience with pilgrims from Slovakia, in the Paul VI Hall of the Vatican.
And he added: “I like to walk but this time I must obey the doctor. That is why I will ask you to make the sacrifice of climbing the stairs and I will greet you here, seated. It is a humiliation but I offer it for your country”.
The 85-year-old pontiff suffers from a problem in his right leg that makes it difficult for him to walk, making him limp, and prevents him from standing for long periods of time.
In recent weeks he has suspended his schedule for a few days to undergo medical tests and this problem forced him to change some rites during last Holy Week, such as the prostration in the Vatican basilica for Good Friday.
On February 25, the Holy See confirmed that he suffered from acute gonalgia, that is, rheumatic-type pain in the knee, for which more rest was recommended, having to suspend a trip to Florence (north) and preventing him from presiding on Wednesday of Ash.