Pope stumbles, but avoids falling when cane snaps

VATICAN CITY — 

Pope Francis tripped portion entering the Vatican auditorium for an assemblage Saturday aft the grip of his walking instrumentality snapped, but helium avoided falling.

The 88-year-old pope often indispensable usage a wheelchair oregon a cane due to the fact that of atrocious knees and has fallen doubly successful the past 2 months.

After Saturday's flimsy stumble, 2 aides helped him to his seat connected the signifier and the assemblage proceeded without incident. After helium recovered idiosyncratic successful the assemblage shouted "Viva il Papa" and the assemblage applauded.

Earlier successful January, Francis fell and wounded his close arm. It wasn't broken, but a sling was enactment connected arsenic a precaution.

On December 7, the pope whacked his chin connected his nightstand successful an evident autumn that resulted successful a atrocious bruise.

The pontiff has agelong battled wellness problems including bouts of bronchitis. He uses a walker oregon cane erstwhile moving astir his flat successful the Vatican's Santa Marta hotel.

Speculation astir Francis' wellness is simply a changeless successful Vatican circles, particularly aft Pope Benedict XVI broke 600 years of contented and resigned from the papacy successful 2013. Benedict's aides person attributed the determination to a nighttime autumn that helium suffered during a 2012 travel to Mexico, aft which helium determined helium couldn't support up with the globe-trotting demands of the papacy.

Francis has said that helium has nary plans to resign anytime soon, adjacent if Benedict "opened the door" to the possibility. In his autobiography "Hope" released this month, Francis said that helium hadn't considered resigning adjacent erstwhile helium had large intestinal surgery.