Why has Pope Francis cancelled his scheduled audiences?

According to the Vatican, the 86-year old Pope Francis has cancelled his planned audiences because he is suffering from ‘mild flu.’ “The Holy Father’s audiences scheduled for this morning are cancelled due to a mild flu,” said the Vatican in a statement. The pontiff holds meetings with the officials on Saturdays, and his next public appearance is scheduled for Sunday, when the Pope is expected to address crowds (which he does weekly) in St Peter’s Square. 

Sky News reported that the Pope “is also due to attend the upcoming COP28 conference on climate change in Dubai where he is expected to hold bilateral meetings with world leaders attending the event. Recently pressed over his health issues in an interview, Francis who turns 87 next month, quipped in what has become his standard response: “Still alive, you know.”

This is not the first time the Pope has been forced to cancel planned audiences. Earlier in November 2023 he did not read prepared remarks at an audience with European rabbis as he was suffering from a cold. He also underwent hernia surgery in June this year and had to spend nine days in hospital. The Pope was originally called Jorge Mario Bergoglio, he was elected Pope in 2013 and was the archbishop of Buenos Aires in Argentina from 1998 until 2013.