The AFP is one of the sources behind this breaking news story.. Angus MacKinnon, a reporter with the agency, filed his heavy-hitting dispatch on the Francis weight gain: 

Pizza-loving Pope Francis has been told to cut down and exercise more, reports said Thursday as the pontiff made the latest in a string of allusions to feeling weary.

 The 78-year-old pontiff is visibly chubbier these days than he was when he lived in Argentina and was known for a frugal lifestyle and walking as much as he could.

Since being elected he has made several enigmatic remarks suggesting he does not expect to be pope for longer than a few years, triggering speculation about possible health issues.

The latest came in a pre-Easter mass on Thursday, when he talked about the physically and emotionally exhausting nature of the work of a parish priest.

The Pope has a slight limp that got worse.. heavy food has led him to feel more tired. His high fat and high carb diet has led him to have a much more robust waist when seen in public.. Undoubtedly the frock has been frilled and had to be enlarged a bit over the past year..

Pope Fat-cis has been a nickname bantered about since this story broke..
People must want a thin pope..

I for one am perfectly fine with a Pope who lives his life enjoying food–carby food, too..

But he better watch out or the seat in the Pope Mobile will have to be expanded.. Airlines will start charging him for two people.. And his vestments will be stretched as his body gets bigger.

He’s bigger than life already. He may as well just be bigger.

This weekend: Easter. And ham. Lots of ham.