Pope Francis cancels appointments due to a slight fever

Vatican City, Feb 25, 2016 / 07:32 am

On Thursday Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi SJ announced that after Pope Francis celebrated his usual morning Mass, he canceled the rest of his appointments due to a small fever.

The spokesman told journalists Feb. 25 that the cancellations were caused by "a slight indisposition," which he described as a "slight fever."

He explained that the fever is nothing serious, and that the Pope celebrated Mass at 7a.m. as usual in the Vatican's St. Martha guesthouse. He stressed that there is nothing to worry about, and that the Pope usually "recovers quickly" when he's sick.

Although it doesn't happen often, Pope Francis has canceled appointments before due to illnesses such as a cold or a headache.

Francis' fever isn't surprising given the intense schedule he's had since he got back from Mexico. He traveled to the country Feb. 12-17 for an apostolic voyage that took him to the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Chiapas, Morelia and Ciudad Juarez.

The day after he got back the Pope continued his routine activities without missing a beat, meeting with groups and individuals throughout the day.

On Saturday he celebrated his second Jubilee general audience of the Holy Year, which takes place once a month on a Saturday, and on Sunday spoke to pilgrims during his weekly Angelus address.

Despite today's fever, Pope Francis is expected to resume his normal schedule tomorrow.