Pope Francis has postponed his visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan due to ill health, Vatican has confirmed.
The trip was planned for the 2nd-7th of July but the Pope will now set another date, said Director of the Holy See Press Office Matteo Bruni as reported by Vatican News.
“Accepting the request of the doctors and in order not to cancel the results of the knee therapies still in progress, the Holy Father is forced, with regret, to postpone the apostolic journey to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, planned for 2-7 July, to a new date to be determined,” Bruni said.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Pope was due to visit the capital Kinshasa and Goma, in North Kivu province.
In Kinshasa, Pope Francis was to lead a two-hour Eucharistic celebration at Ndolo airport, north of Kinshasa. After the capital, the Pope was to fly to Goma where he was to lead a mass before meeting victims of violence in that part of the country.
Pope Francis' visit to the DRC was eagerly awaited, which would have come 37 years after Pope John Paul II visited Kinshasa.
The 85-year-old has been suffering from a knee injury which has limited his ability to work and confined him to a wheelchair.
His visit to Canada scheduled 24-29 June however remains in place.
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