Pope Francis, 85, has been forced to postpone his trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan, scheduled for July 2-7, because of knee pain, the Vatican announced.
“Accepting the request of his doctors, and in order not to compromise the results of the therapies of the knee still in progress, the Holy Father, to his great regret, is forced to postpone his trip (…) to a later date to be defined,” announced in a statement the director of the press service of the Holy See, Matteo Bruni. This unexpected announcement comes at a time when preparations were in full swing, the Vatican having itself unveiled the detailed program of this six-day trip, during which the pontiff was to visit Kinshasa, Goma and Juba.