Pope Francis suffered an arm injury from a dangerous fall at 88 years old. The head of the Catholic Church is currently recovering after his fall on Thursday which occurred at the Vatican's Santa Marta hotel.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Pope Francis Falls And Injures Arm
According to a statement from the Holy See press, Francis had not broken his right arm. Currently, his arm is recovering in a sling, but it's not a serious injury. Since the stumble, photos have come out showing the Pope shaking hands using his left hand.
Pope Francis "suffered a contusion to his right forearm, without fracture," the Vatican statement read. "The arm was immobilized as a precautionary measure."
The 88-year-old Pope doesn't seem to be affected by this injury as he attended five meetings on Thursday despite the hurt arm. He met with a few different people in the Vatican, such as Nosipho Nausca-Jean Jezile, the United Nations FAO Committee Chairperson on World Food Security. Another was the President of the UN Fund for Agricultural Development, Alvaro Lario.
This hasn't been the only time the Catholic Church leader has injured himself. For the past few years, the Pope has occasionally used a wheelchair due to knee pain. Meanwhile, just over a month ago, Pope Francis had another tumble and bruised his chin on a nightstand in the process.
Despite these issues, Pope Francis doesn't seem to have any plans of stepping down from his leadership role. He said that he's still in pretty good health and plans to continue as Pope in a recently published autobiography. The reality, he said, is "quite simply, that I am old."
Unless he experiences an injury or ailment that affects his brain, it seems Pope Francis has no plans to slow down. "The Church is governed using the head and the heart, not the legs," he joked.
His memoir called Hope also went into detail on his initial embarrassment upon requiring a wheelchair. Pope Francis eventually had to accept it for what it was since "old age never arrives by itself."
