The apostolic trip of Pope Francis to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and South Sudan has been canceled due to the relevant recommendation of doctors. This was announced on Friday by the head of the press service of the Holy See, Matteo Bruni.

Following the recommendation of doctors, in order not to lose the results of therapy for knee pain, the holy father regretfully has to postpone his apostolic trip to the DRC and South Sudan, scheduled for July 2-7, the statement said. Bruni specified that the date of the possible trip of the Pope to Africa will be determined in the future.

For more than a month, 85-year-old Francis has been using a wheelchair to not put pressure on his bad knee. He made it clear that he would be reluctant to agree to a new operation after undergoing surgery last July due to bowel problems.

So far, the Pope's plans include a visit to Canada at the end of July. Previously, trips of the head of the Roman Catholic Church have already been canceled, but quite rarely. So, in 2020, Francis postponed his visit to Malta due to the pandemic.