As treatment on his right knee continues, Pope Francis made use of a wheelchair for his audiences of May 5, 2022.
Pope Francis arrived in a wheelchair for an audience with a group of leaders of female religious orders this morning, Twitter accounts showed.
In the photograph, the Pontiff is smiling broadly, in contrast to some of the grimaces we have seen in recent weeks when he has been forced to stand or move, such as on May 4 during the general audience in St. Peter’s Square, as shown in a photo taken by Paul Haring for Catholic News Service, or in this video from the American channel EWTN, which shows the difficulty the Pontiff has in standing up.
The Holy See said February 25 that the Pope is suffering from “acute gonalgia.”
In recent weeks, his participation in many events has been adjusted – the Pontiff remains seated as much as possible, for example, and has chosen not to preside at a couple Masses where he has given the homily.
At an audience on April 30, he explained that his doctor had asked him to stop walking.
A Vatican source told I.MEDIA that the Pontiff may have already used a wheelchair in recent days and may need to use it again in the coming days. For now, no cancellation of announced events with the Pope is foreseen.
This is not the first time that the Pontiff has been forced to use a wheelchair. After his colon surgery in July 2021, he made use of one.
The Pope has said he’s giving a spiritual element to the pain. He said in an interview this week that “a bit of pain can be humbling, a blessing in disguise…”
And today we celebrate...