Pope Francis had a fall and injured his right arm Thursday in the second such mishap in almost a month, the Vatican said.
AP reports Francis didn’t break his arm, but a sling was put on as a precaution, the Vatican spokesman said in a statement.
On Dec. 7, the octogenarian whacked his chin on his nightstand in an apparent fall that resulted in a bad bruise.
The 88-year-old pope, who has battled health problems including long bouts of bronchitis, often has to use a wheelchair because of bad knees.
Pope Francis waves to onlookers while moving in a wheelchair across St. Peter’s Square in The Vatican on December 31, 2024. (ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP via Getty Images)
He uses a walker or cane when moving around his residence in the Santa Marta hotel, the AP report notes.
The Vatican said Thursday’s tumble also occurred at Santa Marta, and the pope was later seen in audiences with his right arm in a sling.
“This morning, due to a fall at the Santa Marta house, Pope Francis suffered a bruise to his right forearm, without fractures,” the Vatican said in a statement in Italian. “The arm was immobilized as a precautionary measure.”
Pope Francis’s public audiences Thursday included a meeting with a delegation from Albania led by religious leader Dede Edmond Brahimaj, who is the leader of the Bektashi Muslims, with members of the Argentinian Priestly College in Rome.
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