By Hannah Brockhaus
Vatican City, January 16, 2025 / 8:30 a.m.
The Vatican said Thursday that Pope Francis suffered a “contusion” to his right forearm after a fall at his residence that morning.
Although the arm was not broken in the accident, it was reinforced “as a precautionary measure,” the brief communication states.
Pope Francis’ arm, tied in a white sling, was visible in photos taken the morning of Jan. 16 at the Apostolic Palace during his scheduled audiences.
The 88-year-old Pope also suffered minor injuries in a fall in December. According to Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni, on the morning of December 6, 2024, Francis hit his chin on his nightstand, causing a large bruise on the lower right side of his cheek.
Francis also caught a cold just before Christmas.
The illness and the two falls did not prevent the pontiff from maintaining his busy schedule, as usual.
On the morning of January 16, he met with Bektashi Islamic leader from Tirana, Albania, His Grace Haji Dede Edmond Brahimaj; Nosipho Nausca-Jean Jezile, president of the World Committee on Food Security; Alvaro Lario, president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development; Archbishop-elect Alberto Torriani of Crotone-Santa Severina; and a group of Argentine priests studying in Rome.
Pope Francis has increasingly shown his age in recent years, as he now almost always uses a wheelchair to get around and sometimes has problems with shortness of breath. During Christmas Eve mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on December 24, 2024, he could be seen wearing what appeared to be hearing aids.
In 2017, Pope Francis also suffered a fall during a visit to the South American country of Colombia. He slipped and hit his cheek and eyebrow on the popemobile as he extended his hand to greet a child.
Hannah Brockhaus is the Catholic News Agency’s senior correspondent in the Vatican. After growing up in Omaha, Nebraska, she earned a degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri. In 2016, she moved to Rome, Italy, where in her free time she enjoys reading and going on adventures with her husband and son.
