The Pope arrives in a wheelchair, the very long applause of the nuns

Pope Francis presented himself in a wheelchair this morning to the plenary assembly of the International Union of Superiors General received in the Vatican.

Smiling and in good physical condition, the Pope arrived pushed in a wheelchair by a trusted butler. For days Bergoglio has been suffering from knee problems which have also led to the cancellation of hearings and official commitments.

"This leg is not good, it is not working, and the doctor told me not to walk and this time I have to obey him," he said in recent days during an audience with Slovak pilgrims.

The nuns welcomed him this morning with a very long applause and chanting sentences of encouragement: “ Long live the Pope! ".

Once he reached his desk, Francesco, who began speaking in Spanish, immediately said he did not want to read the prepared speech of “nine folders”: “What do I do - he said jokingly -, I read it and you sleep? Or would you rather ask me questions? ”. The Pope thus continued by opening up to open dialogue with the superiors.

The Vatican press office gave a clarification on his health conditions. A few days ago the Pontiff underwent an infiltration for the severe pain in his right knee which causes him heavy walking difficulties. The doctors also asked him to observe the maximum possible rest for the limb, this explains why today he arrived at the meeting with the nuns in wheelchairs. It is possible that he will continue to use it in the next few days, excluding for the moment the hypothesis of a knee operation .

(Unionenline / L)