Knee injury forces Pope to postpone Africa trip planned for July 2-7

Doctors have told him to stay home, so as not to jeopardize his physical therapy treatments

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Doctors have urged Pope Francis to postpone his trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan so as not to jeopardize the therapy he has been getting for his knee.

The trip to the African continent was scheduled to take place July 2-7. New dates haven’t been announced.

Matteo Bruni, the director of the Vatican press office, made the announcement Friday.

“At the request of his doctors, and in order not to jeopardize the results of the therapy that he is undergoing for his knee, the Holy Father has been forced to postpone, with regret, his Apostolic Journey to the Democratic Republic of Congo and to South Sudan, planned for 2 to 7 July, to a later date to be determined.”

The Apostolic Journey to Africa was to include two stops in the DRC – in the capital, Kinshasa, and the city of Goma – and a visit to Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

The Pope is scheduled for another international trip in July: to Canada from July 24-30. Bruni did not comment about that trip.

A Vatican source tells I.MEDIA that the Africa trip will probably not be able to take place before March 2023 due to the Pontiff’s agenda and the unsuitable weather conditions between November and March.

“His doctors have warned the Pope that excessive effort currently could worsen the condition of his knee,” Bruni explained to journalists present in the Press Room of the Holy See. Furthermore, “He could no longer return to the improved state that has been seen recently.”