Vatican No. 2 and Deputy Both Positive for COVID-19

COVID-19 Vatican
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 pope’s 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)

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VATICAN CITY (AP) — 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.

RELATED: Pope Francis on COVID Vaccines Says Health Care a ‘Moral Obligation’

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.

RELATED: Pope Francis, Emeritus Pope Benedict Among Group Given Third Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine

This article originally appeared here.

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