Pope Francis Moves Meeting to Vatican Home Because of Painful Knee

While popes usually live in the papal apartments in the apostolic palace, at the start of his pontificate, Pope Francis opted to keep his apartment in the Vatican guesthouse instead.

In his meeting with representatives of the International Federation of Catholic Pharmacists, Pope Francis said the COVID-19 pandemic has placed pharmacists on the response “front lines.”

“Citizens, often lost, have found in you a point of reference for assistance, advice, information, and also — as we well know — to be able to quickly carry out the tests necessary for life and daily activities,” he said.

He encouraged pharmacists to carry out their work “on a human scale,” noting that neighborhood pharmacies can have a character of familiarity not always true of other health care environments.

Pope Francis praised the Catholic pharmacists for creating an association as a means of mutual support, and reminded them that Church associations are “always open to everyone and at the service of all, naturally with respect for the principles of Christian morality, based on the dignity of the human person.”

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Hannah Brockhaus is Catholic News Agency's senior Rome correspondent. She grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and has a degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri.