Pope Francis hurt his right arm in a fall at his residence yesterday and wore a sling during meetings and audiences as a “precautionary measure”. Source: CNS.
“This morning, due to a fall at the Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis suffered a contusion to his right forearm, without a fracture,” the Vatican press office said.
“The arm was immobilised as a precautionary measure.”
The note was published after Vatican Media had distributed photographs of the 88-year-old pontiff’s morning meetings in which he was wearing a sling that appeared to be made from an elastic bandage tied at his neck.
While the photos showed shaking hands with his left hand, other photos showed him using his right hand to sign a document.
The Pope also had fallen in early December, hitting his chin on his bedside table and sporting a significant bruise on the right side of his face when he created 21 new cardinals December 7.
Pope Francis’ voice also has sounded hoarse for weeks. When he met with ambassadors serving at the Vatican on January 9, Pope Francis read only the first paragraph of his prepared text.
Explaining that he was “still suffering from a bit of a cold,” he asked an aide, Msgr Filippo Ciampanelli, to read the rest of his text.
While his voice continued to sound rough, he has read his prepared texts since that audience.
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Pope injures arm in a fall, wears sling at audiences (By Cindy Wooden, CNS)
