Knee problems do not go away: the Pope was forced to postpone the trip to Africa
Vatican City – Knee problems do not go away and so Pope Francis, “accepting the request of the doctors, and in order not to frustrate the results of the therapies”, “with regret he is forced to postpone his apostolic trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo and in South Sudan expected from 2 to 7 July, new date to be defined “.
This was announced by the director of the Vatican Press Office, Matteo Bruni, explaining that the doctors have suggested this decision to Pope Francis because there are improvements in his knee but “with an excessive effort he risks returning to the situation before the improvements and above all risks not reaching them. more”.
The therapies that the Pope is following for knee pain are infiltrations, physiotherapy, and above all putting the knee to rest with the use of a wheelchair. The Pontiff would benefit above all from the reduction of pain. On the other hand, there is no mention of intervention because he has already expressed, in the closed-door meeting with the Italian bishops, his unwillingness to undergo an operation. In this context, there should also be no event presided over by the Pope for Corpus Domini, a rite that includes a procession (and tradition has it that the Pontiff presides over the rite at the Lateran with a procession that winds up to the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore).
The Vatican has not yet communicated anything in this regard and the solemnity is celebrated on Thursday 16 June (although the Italian Church is moving it to the following Sunday). On the other hand, there are no new communications regarding the trip to Canada that the Pope should make from 24 to 30 July. Returning to the trip to Africa, as regards the new dates, it must be considered that from November onwards, for a few months, it would be difficult for climatic reasons. So, if you don’t find a hole in your agenda before November, and it would seem difficult at the moment, the trip could be postponed by up to a year.
