Pope Francis injures his arm after falling in the Vatican

CNN
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Pope Francis fell and injured his right arm, but did not break any bones, according to the Vatican.

In a statement, the Holy See’s press office said the 88-year-old pope “suffered a contusion to his right forearm, without a fracture,” from a fall Thursday morning at Casa Santa Marta, the pope’s residence.

The statement added that his arm was “immobilized as a precautionary measure.”

Official images showed the Pope carrying a cloth stretcher at his meetings.

Despite the fall, Francis held five meetings on Thursday, according to the Vatican, including with Alvaro Lario, president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and priests from an Argentine college based in Rome.

On Wednesday, the pope led his general audience at the Vatican and appeared to be in good spirits as he tossed a tennis ball to a dog during a circus performance.

The pope has suffered from a number of health problems in recent years and this is the second fall in just a few weeks. In early December he appeared with a large bruise on his chin after falling during the night and hitting his bedside table.

Since 2022, the Pope has been in a wheelchair due to restricted mobility due to knee pain. In his recently published autobiography, “Hope,” Francis said he was in good health and ruled out resigning from office, but said that “the reality is simply that I am old.”

He said it was “embarrassing at first to have to use a wheelchair, but age never comes easy and you have to accept it as it is.”

He added: “The church is governed with the head and heart, not with the legs. “I do physical therapy twice a week, use a cane, take as many steps as possible and keep going.”

The Pope will appear this Sunday at 7:30 a.m. CET on the Italian talk show “Che Tempo Che Fa” on Nove, a channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of CNN.

This story has been updated.