VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis skipped reading a planned speech at a conference on Thursday, saying he still had breathing problems following a hernia operation this month.

"I am still under the effects of anaesthesia, my breathing is not good," Francis told a meeting of the Catholic Oriental Church, saying delegates would instead receive a text of the speech.

Asked by a well-wisher how he felt, the 86-year-old pope replied: "I'm still alive."

The pope had surgery on June 7 to repair an abdominal hernia. He spent nine days in hospital recovering and has had a busy schedule since returning to the Vatican last Friday, including meeting the presidents of Cuba and Brazil.

He had eight events on his schedule for Thursday.

(Reporting by Philip Pullella; Writing by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Alison Williams)