Pope Francis' Recommendation For Knee Pain: Tequila

Pope Francis has a unique therapeutic treatment for dealing with a bad knee: a shot of tequila.

What Happened: The Associated Press reported the pontiff conversed with a group of Mexican seminarians visiting the Vatican when he was asked about his knee — the 85-year-old Francis has strained ligaments in his right knee and his doctors recommended that he use a wheelchair and a cane.

Speaking in his native Spanish with the seminarians, the Argentine-born Francis described his knee as being “capricious” before offering his own prescription to deal with his condition.

“Do you know what I need for my knee?” Francis said. “Some tequila.”

The seminarians laughed and promised to deliver a bottle to the pope’s residence at the Santa Marta.

Why It Matters: Francis postponed a two-day trip to Lebanon scheduled for June because of the mobility problems created by his knee condition, but is still slated for visits to Canada, Congo and Sudan in July.

Francis’ predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, resigned in 2013 after an eight-year reign due to multiple health issues. This marked the first time that a pope voluntarily stepped down since Gregory XII in 1415.

The final years of the reign of Benedict’s predecessor, Pope John Paul II, were marked with severe health issues including Parkinson’s disease and osteoarthrosis that limited his speech and mobility.

Photo: Catholic Church of England and Wales/Flickr Creative Commons