Vatican Says Pope Francis Suffering From a Cold

Pope Francis coughs during the Angelus noon prayer he recited from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on March 1, 2020. Andrew Medichini/AP Photo

The Vatican responded to questions and speculation about Pope Francis’s health after the pontiff missed several events last week and appeared visibly ill in photos.

In a Wednesday statement, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said that Francis merely has a cold, not the COVID-19 coronavirus. Italian paper Il Messaggero reported that he tested negative for COVID-19, but the Vatican didn’t mention this in its statement.