09.02.2025 18:01
The 88-year-old Pope Francis, the spiritual leader of Catholics and the head of the Vatican State, fell ill during a mass he was leading. The Pope, who interrupted his speech saying, "I can't breathe," had his remarks completed by his assistant.
During the traditional "Jubilee" year, celebrated by the Catholic community every 25 years, the spiritual leader of Catholics and the President of the Vatican, 88-year-old Pope Francis, today led a special mass for approximately 30,000 military delegations from various countries, mostly from Italian security forces.
DIFFICULTY BREATHING
Due to bronchitis, Pope Francis has postponed some of his meetings since the beginning of the week. The special mass for the security forces at St. Peter's Square in the Vatican lasted about 2 hours in the cold weather. It was observed that Pope Francis, who has been suffering from bronchitis since the beginning of the week and has either postponed or conducted some of his appointments with limited means, appeared tired and struggled during today's mass.
HIS ASSISTANT COMPLETED HIS SPEECH
During the mass, the spiritual leader of Catholics said, "I apologize, I am having difficulty breathing," and asked his assistant to read his speech.
In his speech to the security forces, the Pope stated, "I ask you not to lose sight of the purpose of your service and actions: to support life, to save lives, and to always defend life. I kindly ask you to remain vigilant. Be alert to the temptation to feed the spirit of war."
"LET WEAPONS FALL SILENT EVERYWHERE"
Pope Francis noted that service in the armed forces should only be for legitimate defense purposes and should never aim to establish dominance over other nations.
In the final part of the mass, the Pope personally delivered his speech during the Sunday prayer, calling on the faithful to pray for peace in Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Myanmar, the Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sudan, saying, "Let weapons fall silent everywhere."