Pope fractures wrist. The Pope, 82, was able to walk to the the casualty department of the hospital after arriving with his private secretary, Mgr Georg Ganswein, just before 10am on Friday.--…More
Pope fractures wrist.
The Pope, 82, was able to walk to the the casualty department of the hospital after arriving with his private secretary, Mgr Georg Ganswein, just before 10am on Friday.--telegraph.co.uk
Vatican officials were quick to say the incident was "not serious" and that the Pope was being checked purely as a precaution and was having an X-ray on his wrist and ankle.
Every summer the German-born Pontiff takes a summer break in a chalet at Les Combes near Aosta in the Italian Alps - a tradition begun by his predecessor Pope John Paul II.
Today his spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, said: "The Holy Father fell over, it is nothing serious and he has gone to the Parini hospital in Aosta for a check up."
This is the first major health scare for Pope Benedict since he was elected leader of the Roman Catholic Church in April 2005 - although it is not the first time he has slipped.
Earlier this year at a ceremony he tripped as he left the altar at the end of a service but he managed to right himself and avoid falling to the floor.
Except for an occasional cough, though, the Pope appears healthy and robust and in five years has never skipped a planned event for health reasons.
In an interview he once said that being Pope is "really tiring" and in an interview with German television he said he did not feel strong enough to take many long trips.
However in the last year alone he has been to Australia, Africa and the Middle East and later this year he id due to visit the Czech Republic while there are also rumours of a visit to Britain next year.
When Pope John Paul II was in his later years and clearly suffering from Parkinson's disease, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger once suggested that there might come a time when popes have to retire.
The Pope, 82, was able to walk to the the casualty department of the hospital after arriving with his private secretary, Mgr Georg Ganswein, just before 10am on Friday.--telegraph.co.uk
Vatican officials were quick to say the incident was "not serious" and that the Pope was being checked purely as a precaution and was having an X-ray on his wrist and ankle.
Every summer the German-born Pontiff takes a summer break in a chalet at Les Combes near Aosta in the Italian Alps - a tradition begun by his predecessor Pope John Paul II.
Today his spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, said: "The Holy Father fell over, it is nothing serious and he has gone to the Parini hospital in Aosta for a check up."
This is the first major health scare for Pope Benedict since he was elected leader of the Roman Catholic Church in April 2005 - although it is not the first time he has slipped.
Earlier this year at a ceremony he tripped as he left the altar at the end of a service but he managed to right himself and avoid falling to the floor.
Except for an occasional cough, though, the Pope appears healthy and robust and in five years has never skipped a planned event for health reasons.
In an interview he once said that being Pope is "really tiring" and in an interview with German television he said he did not feel strong enough to take many long trips.
However in the last year alone he has been to Australia, Africa and the Middle East and later this year he id due to visit the Czech Republic while there are also rumours of a visit to Britain next year.
When Pope John Paul II was in his later years and clearly suffering from Parkinson's disease, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger once suggested that there might come a time when popes have to retire.