Once again, Pope Francis apologized for not being able to come out to greet the crowd at the May 4, 2022, general audience he presided over in St. Peter's Square. Now receiving injections, he said he hopes the condition in his right knee is only temporary.
"Unfortunately I will not be able to be with you because of the illness of my knee," the 85-year-old Pontiff explained at the end of the audience. "For this reason I apologize for greeting you sitting down."
And he wished: "Let's hope that this will pass quickly and that I will be able to go to you for other audiences."
Arriving in St. Peter's Square around 9 a.m., the Bishop of Rome passed through the crowd, seated in his popemobile. As he passed through the aisles, he blessed some children carried to him by his bodyguards and took part in the popular custom of exchanging white caps, smiling and relaxed.
He got down from the popemobile behind the podium and did walk, though with marked difficulty, to his seat. He was assisted by a prelate.
Blessing in disguise
In an interview with Corriere della Sera published on May 3, the Pope said he has "a torn ligament."
"I will undergo an operation with infiltrations and we'll see," he explained. According to our information, the Pontiff did receive an injection, but no details were released about the operation.
"I've been in this condition for some time; I can't walk," the head of the Catholic Church told the Italian daily. While doctors have prescribed total rest, he again seemed to take the discomfort with a spiritual sense, saying, "But a bit of pain can be humbling, a blessing in disguise…” Earlier he said to pilgrims from Slovakia that he was offering up the "humiliation" for them.
On Monday, as he did this morning with the Prime Minister of Japan, the Pontiff held his audiences at Casa Santa Marta, where he lives, and not at the Apostolic Palace, to avoid moving about.
