Pope asks aide to deliver his annual foreign policy address, cites he's battling cold

ROME: Pope Francis told

ambassadors

accredited to the

Holy See

on Thursday that he wasn't up to delivering his annual foreign policy speech and asked an aide to deliver it instead. A congested-sounding Francis began the speech, greeting the ambassadors gathered in the

Hall of Blessings

.
But just a few lines into the lengthy speech, which usually recaps highlights of the past year, the 88-year-old Francis said he was still battling a cold and handed the remarks over to an aide.
Francis, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, often suffers bouts of

bronchitis

in winter that leave him out of breath and make it difficult to speak at length. He has just emerged from a gruelling

Christmas period

in which he inaugurated the

Vatican

's Holy Year celebrations.
He has sounded congested in recent days but has nevertheless kept up with his typically busy schedule.