Pope ‘much better’ after bronchitis bout but still tires if he speaks too much

Pope Francis said Wednesday he was feeling “much better” after a two-week bout with bronchitis but again asked an aide to read his remarks for him.

Francis, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, told his weekly general audience that he still gets tired if he speaks too much.

Francis, who turns 87 on Dec. 17, came down with the flu Nov. 25 and was forced to cancel a planned trip to Dubai to participate in the United Nations climate conference. He later revealed that he had been diagnosed with an acute case of infectious bronchitis that made breathing difficult.

It was the second time this year that he has had a serious case of bronchitis; in the spring, he was hospitalized for three days to receive intravenous antibiotics.

Francis walked onto the stage of the Vatican audience hall with his cane Wednesday and smiled broadly at the cheering crowd. He appeared in good spirits and received several prelates who came to speak to him individually at the end of the audience.

Explaining why he would ask his aide to read his remarks, he said: “I’m much better, but I get tired if I speak too much.”

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Francis then made a brief appeal asking for prayers for all those suffering from war, including people in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza.

“War is always a defeat,” he said. “No one wins; everyone loses. The only ones who win are the weapons makers.”

To spare him from temperature changes that might aggravate his condition, Francis has delivered his weekly Sunday blessing for the last two weekends from the Vatican chapel rather than the open window of his studio overlooking St. Peter’s Square.

Nevertheless, the Vatican has confirmed that Francis would participate in his annual visit to pray before a statue of the Virgin Mary at Rome’s Piazza di Spagna on Friday to mark an important Roman Catholic feast day and officially kick off the Christmas season in Rome.

The Vatican said Francis was also planning to add on a visit that day, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, to Rome’s St. Mary Major basilica to pray before one of his favorite icons of Mary.