Still suffering from his right knee, Pope Francis held his audiences at his residence, the Casa Santa Marta, and not at the Apostolic Palace, this May 2, 2022, to avoid moving about.
Among his guests: the International Federation of Catholic Pharmacists.
“This audience was supposed to take place at the Apostolic Palace, but because of my knee it is taking place here,” the Pontiff explained at the outset in his speech to the leaders of this organization, which was founded in 1950 and is based in Brussels.
Two days earlier, while receiving pilgrims from Slovakia on April 30, the Pope confided that his doctor has asked him not to walk. “I like to walk, but this time I have to obey the doctor,” he said, adding that his immobility is a “humiliation” but something he is offering up.
Pope Francis suffers from acute gonalgia that prevents him from walking normally and has led to many changes in his schedule in recent months.
For the time being, the general audience of Wednesday, May 4, is scheduled in St. Peter’s Square.