FILE - Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin smiles during a meeting at the Bellevue palace in Berlin, Germany on June 29, 2021. The Vatican press office says that The Vatican secretary-of-state and his deputy have both tested positive for the new coronavirus. Officials said Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022, that Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the popes No. 2, has very light symptoms, while Mons. Edgar Pena Parrra is asymptomatic. These are the first cases of COVID confirmed so high up in the Vatican hierarchy since the pandemic began. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)A Swiss guard wears a FFP2 mask during Pope Francis weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
FILE - Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin smiles during a meeting at the Bellevue palace in Berlin, Germany on June 29, 2021. The Vatican press office says that The Vatican secretary-of-state and his deputy have both tested positive for the new coronavirus. Officials said Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022, that Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the popes No. 2, has very light symptoms, while Mons. Edgar Pena Parrra is asymptomatic. These are the first cases of COVID confirmed so high up in the Vatican hierarchy since the pandemic began. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)
VATICAN CITY – The Vatican secretary of state and his deputy have both tested positive for the coronavirus, Vatican officials said Tuesday.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who serves as the Vatican's secretary of state and the pope's No. 2, has “very light” symptoms, while Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra is asymptomatic, officials said.
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There was no immediate comment on their last contact with Pope Francis. It wasn't clear if Francis has received a booster shot, which has been administered to his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
These are the first cases of COVID-19 confirmed so high up in the Vatican hierarchy since the pandemic began.
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