VATICAN CITY: The Vatican's top diplomat and adviser to Pope Francis, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, has tested positive for Covid, a spokesman for the Holy See said Tuesday, January 18, 2022.
The 67-year-old cardinal, who as secretary of state is the Vatican's number two after the pope, was currently in isolation, exhibiting only "mild symptoms," said Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni.
Venezuelan archbishop, Edgar Pena Parra, the Vatican's deputy secretary of state, also tested positive, but he was asymptomatic, Bruni said.
Both men had been vaccinated.
Pope Francis, 85 and himself vaccinated, frequently meets with Cardinal Parolin, who is considered the pontiff's right-hand man.
Francis has been an avid proponent of vaccination yet regularly appears without a mask during public audiences and does not hesitate to shake hands with the faithful and pose for photographs.
Since January 10, it has been mandatory for all Vatican employees to wear FFP2-type masks.