Pope Francis skips meeting because he is running a fever, the Vatican says

By NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican No. 2 says a fever that a fatigued Pope Francis developed was owed to the fact that the pope greeted a huge crowd of people. Cardinal Pietro Parolin spoke after the Vatican confirmed Francis was running a fever and had skipped his meetings Friday. Parolin was quoted by the LaPresse news agency as saying the pope told him he had wanted to greet everyone at the Scholas Occurentes event Thursday. The last time Francis spiked a serious fever, in March, the 86-year-old pontiff was rushed to the hospital where he was diagnosed with acute bronchitis. He received intravenous antibiotics and was released three days later.