By NICOLE WINFIELD (Associated Press)
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis skipped meetings Friday because he had a fever after a particularly busy day, the Vatican said.
Vatican No. 2 Cardinal Pietro Parolin said Francis was tired and attributed the fever to Francis greeting, one by one, a particularly large crowd at the foundation of his school on Thursday afternoon.
“He wanted to greet them all and probably lost his resistance at some point,” Parolin told LaPresse news agency.
The last time Francis brought up a high fever, in March, the 86-year-old pontiff was rushed to hospital where he was diagnosed with acute bronchitis. He received intravenous antibiotics and was released three days later.
A Vatican official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the pope’s health, confirmed that Francis did not receive anyone in audience on Friday “due to a feverish state”.
There were no formal hearings scheduled for Friday, but Francis keeps a separate, private and unofficial schedule of meetings with people he receives at his residence.
Francis has had a busy week, chairing a meeting of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, participating in a Thursday afternoon meeting with his school foundation Scholas Occurentes, as well as meeting with several other visiting prelates and dignitaries.
He is due to preside over the Pentecost Mass on Sunday in St. Peter’s Basilica, and a sign that he should recover quickly, the Vatican announced on Friday a new official audience with Italian President Sergio Mattarella, scheduled for Monday.
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