Talk to us

CathNews, the most frequently visited Catholic website in Australia, is your daily news service featuring Catholics and Catholicism from home and around the world, Mass on Demand and on line, prayer, meditation, reflections, opinion, and reviews. And, what's more - it's free!

Pope Francis leads the recitation of the Angelus prayer in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Sunday (CNS/Vatican Media)

Pope Francis’s audiences were cancelled yesterday as a precautionary measure due to his persisting flu symptoms, the Holy See Press Office announced. Source: CNA.

The Monday morning telegram sent out by the Vatican noted that while the Pope’s “mild flu symptoms persist,” he did not have a fever. The Holy See Press Office did not provide further details on the Pope’s condition, nor hint at whether he would continue with his activities for the week. 

It was the second day in three that the Pope’s audiences were cancelled.

On Saturday, the 87-year-old pontiff cancelled his meeting with the transitional deacons of the Diocese of Rome, who will be ordained to the priesthood in April, due to  “a mild flu-like condition.”

However on Sunday, the Pope appeared in good form when he delivered his weekly Angelus address to the faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square from the window of the Apostolic Palace as scheduled. 

Last November, the Pope was forced to cancel his public appearances due to similarly “mild” flu symptoms. He was later admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Isola Hospital to undergo precautionary testing for pulmonary complications, which came back negative. 

In December, the Pope cancelled his trip to Dubai for the COP28 climate conference, at the request of his doctors, due to a bronchial infection.

FULL STORY

Pope Francis cancels Monday audiences due to persisting ‘mild flu’ symptoms (By Matthew Santucci, CNA)