Pope Francis, suffering knee pain, appears in public for first time using wheelchair

Pope Francis was for the first time seen using a wheelchair in public on Thursday since his complaints about the knee pain, news agency Reuters reported.

The 85-year-old has reportedly been suffering from knee pain limiting his ability to walk.

Multiple pictures shared on social media platforms show nuns and a group of audience wheeling Pope to his seat on stage during a public gathering.

He had only been able to walk some 10 meters (yards) from the side entrance of the stage, to his seat at the centre, that too with help from aides since the latest flare-up past two months.

Meanwhile, the Catholic Church head Tuesday (April 3) said that he is willing to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow over the Ukraine war, AFP reported.

The 85-year-old told Italy's Corriere Della Sera newspaper that he had sent a message to Putin around 20 days into the conflict saying "that I was willing to go to Moscow".

"We have not yet received a response and we are still insisting, though I fear that Putin cannot, and does not, want to have this meeting at this time," he had said.

The pope has repeatedly called for peace in Ukraine and denounced a "cruel and senseless war" but without ever mentioning Putin or Moscow by name.

(with agency inputs)