Pope Francis lost his balance while riding in the Popemobile accident through a crowd in Cartagena, Colombia, on Sunday, bruising his left cheekbone and eyelid, but he was not seriously hurt.
Pope Francis suffered a minor injury on the last day of his Sept. 6-11 trip to Colombia, stumbling in the Popemobile as he was reaching out to a member of the crowd when the vehicle stopped abruptly, and he struck his face against a metal bar. Despite visible bruising and swelling, a spokesman said the pontiff is just fine, and continued his schedule as planned.
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Soon after the injury, which was televised live, Francis received a white handkerchief from one of the members of his security escort. The head of the security team, Italian layman Domenico Gianni, cleaned his eyebrow, signaling that’s where the blood, which stained his white cassock, originated.
Eventually, the motorcade stopped for the pope to receive treatment while he was making a stop at the home of a 77-year-old women who cooks and distributes meals to the homeless named Lorenza Pérez. When he got back in the car, he was sporting a Band-Aid on his eyebrow and a bruise was already visible on his cheekbone.
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While the appeal was welcomed, many in the crowd were more taken by Francis’ mishap on the popemobile and his bruised and bloody eye.
“This holy blood is staying in Colombia,” said Ricardo Morales, a lawyer who lined up outside St. Peter Claver’s church for a glimpse of the pope. “He made a great effort to be here and from now on it’s our obligation to make a similar effort to thank him for everything he has done.”