Pope Francis cancels trip to Congo and South Sudan due to bad knee

Pope Francis canceled a planned July trip to Africa on doctors’ orders because of knee problems, the Vatican said Friday, dashing hopes of the faithful there and raising further questions about the health and mobility of the 85-year-old pontiff.

The Vatican said the July 2-7 trip to Congo and South Sudan would be rescheduled “to a later date to be determined.” The visit had sought to promote peace in two African countries long wrestling with deadly violence.

“At the request of his doctors, and in order not to jeopardize the results of the therapy that he is undergoing for his knee, the Holy Father has been forced to postpone, with regret, his Apostolic Journey to the Democratic Republic of Congo and to South Sudan,” the Vatican said.

Pope Francis uses a wheelchair as he greets the faithful as he leaves St. Mary Major Basilica after participating in a rosary prayer for peace in Rome on May 31, 2022. (Gregorio Borgia/)

Francis has been using a wheelchair for a month due to strained ligaments in his right knee that have made walking and standing difficult and painful. He has refused so far to get surgery, and has instead received injections, kept the knee as immobile as possible and walked with a cane or the help of an aide.

Questions had swirled for months about Francis’ ability to negotiate the Africa journey, which would have been taxing for the pope even without the knee problems. Yet as recently as this week, plans were still proceeding.

People drive past a banner promoting Pope Francis to Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo,. A bad knee has forced the pontiff to postpone the visit. (Moses Sawasawa/)

Francis also has a July 24-30 visit to Canada scheduled; the Vatican statement Friday said nothing about that trip. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni would only say that the pope’s other commitments were confirmed.

Francis had been due to visit South Sudan with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the head of the Church of Scotland to make a joint, ecumenical appeal for peace. Such a trip had been discussed as early as 2017, when South Sudan was still in the grip of civil war, but security concerns kept postponing it.

The Rev. John Gbemyoro, an official with the Sudan and South Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference, said Friday’s news dashed the expectations of Christians.

“We don’t love to hear it,” Gbemyoro told The Associated Press. “But we are asking God to heal him quickly because we still need him to come to South Sudan.”

Pope Francis walks with a cane as he arrives for his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican on June 1, 2022. (Gregorio Borgia/)

The archbishop of Juba, Stephen Ameyu Martin, told reporters that South Sudan President Salva Kiir was “a bit sad” but understood: “What can we do? It’s a health problem.” The archbishop reminded disappointed South Sudanese that it could happen to anyone.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and the moderator of the Church of Scotland, Rt. Rev. Iain Greenshields, said they were praying for Francis and regretted the trip would again be postponed.

“I continue to pray for the people of South Sudan in their challenges and hopes for peace, and look forward to this historic visit at a later date,” Welby tweeted.

The Congolese government said it wished Francis a prompt recovery and assured him that Congo still awaits him.

Martha Mwavit, a member of the Saint-Esprit Parish choir, said the singers had spent two months rehearsing songs for the papal Mass in Goma. The Catholic faithful in Congo now can only pray for Francis to come.

“I am 74 years old, and I don’t know if I will have the chance to sing in a Mass given by the pope. I would like his health to recover so that I can have this chance before I die,” she said.

Speculation has swirled about the future of Francis’ pontificate because of his health problems, his decision to create 16 new voting-age cardinals in August, and his plans to pay homage that month to a 13th century pope who resigned, Celestine V.

But Francis has given no indication he wants or plans to resign.

Vatican watchers say a papal resignation now would be unthinkable given that Francis’ 95-year-old predecessor, Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, is still alive.