VATICAN CITY (AP) – Pope Francis cancels public appearances again due to nerve pain.
Francis will not attend three events in the coming days “due to the resurgence of sciatica,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said on Saturday.
The 84-year-old pope will continue the Angelus blessing on Saturday, delivered from the Apostolic Library instead of a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square due to the reappearance of the virus. But he will not say Mass in the Vatican Basilica on Sunday or a planned evening prayer at St. Paul’s Basilica to close a week of prayer, and a meeting with the diplomatic corps at the Holy See set for Monday will be rescheduled, the Vatican said.
Nervous pains forced the pope to skip the New Year’s ceremonies in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Francis’ excess sciatica raises questions about his planned trip to Iraq on March 3-8, a visit that some have questioned following the coronavirus pandemic.
Papal travels are exhausting in any circumstance, with many meetings every day, long Masses and reception lines and multiple transfers by car and plane.
Francis has spoken openly about his sciatica in the past. It is a form of pain in the lower body caused by compression or irritation on the nerve roots or sciatic nerve, which flows from the lower spine down to the thigh.