POPE’S PERSONAL DOCTOR DIES FROM COVID-19 COMPLICATIONS

Pope Francis' personal doctor, Fabrizio Soccorsi, has died as a result of “complications due to COVID,” the Vatican’s newspaper L’Osservatore Romano announced on Saturday, Livia Borghese reported for CNN.

Pope Francis chose Soccorsi as a personal doctor in 2015, the news outlet said. He was 78 years old when he died.

Soccorsi was hospitalized in Rome on December 26 for a previous oncological disease, according to the Italian Bishop’s Conference newspaper Avvenire. It’s unclear exactly when he was last in direct contact with Pope Francis.

In an interview with Italy's Canale 5 channel set to air on Sunday night, Pope Francis said the Vatican will begin COVID-19 vaccinations next week and he is in line to take it.

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