Pope Francis cited his poor health as he declined to read a prepared speech at a meeting with European rabbis, and a Vatican spokesperson said he had a “bit of a cold”.
A visibly fatigued and breathless Francis, 86, told the rabbis during the audience in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace that he was very happy to receive them, but added: “I’m not feeling well and so I prefer not to read the speech but give it to you, so you can take it with you.”
His speech decried antisemitism, war and terrorism.
The Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said the pope would continue with the remainder of his scheduled engagements on Monday, including a meeting with children from around the world in the afternoon. He said Francis “preferred to greet the European rabbis individually, and that’s why he handed over his speech.”
In the address, Francis said his first thought and prayers went “above all else to everything that has happened in the last few weeks”.
He said: “Yet again violence and war have erupted in that land blessed by the Most High, which seems continually assailed by the vileness of hatred and the deadly clash of weapons.”
He later appeared more energetic when taking questions from children 7-12 from around the world, including Ukraine and the Palestinian Territories, at a Vatican event.
He had the 7,000 children observe a moment of silence for babies killed during wars, and instructed them that peace-making started with “an outstretched hand, with the hand of friendship”. In answers to questions, he said he drank a glass of water before responding when he was angry and he couldn’t remember his dreams because he was sleeping.
Francis has long history of health problems. He underwent surgery in June to repair an abdominal hernia and spent nine days in hospital. In June 2021 he underwent a colon operation, and since May of last year he has frequently been seen using a wheelchair or a walking stick due to a knee ailment.
The pope has also suffered from sciatica, a chronic nerve condition that causes back, hip and leg pain. A flare-up caused the pope to miss New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day services in December 2020, the first time health problems had caused him to miss major religious events.
He developed a separate knee problem but opted against surgery because he did not want a repeat of long-term negative side-effects from anaesthesia that he had after the 2021 colon operation. Instead, he has looked to overcome the problem with laser and magnet therapy.
In 2022, he was forced to cancel trips to Lebanon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan because of his walking problems. He rescheduled the Africa trip and went to those two countries earlier this year.
As for his mental health, in 2021 he said he had seen a psychiatrist in Argentina when he was a young priest who had helped him to deal with anxiety during the time of the military dictatorship. He said he had learned to deal with the problem through various mechanisms, including listening to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.
Francis had part of one lung removed in his early 20s while training to be a priest in Argentina.
He has often alluded to resigning if bad health prevented him from doing his job. His predecessor, Benedict XVI, opened up the door to papal resignations and Francis has said they should become the norm. In an interview with Swiss Radio in early March, he said: “I could quit if I wasn’t lucid.”
The pope has offered to mediate between Israel and Palestinian militants for the release of hostages in Gaza and to facilitate peace.
He had a telephone conversation with the Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, on Sunday afternoon, the Vatican press office said. The conversation reportedly took place in the afternoon on Raisi’s request and focused on the conflict in the Middle East sparked by the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October and the Israeli response.
