The Vatican wants to be reassuring about the state of health of the pope, who is judged “good and stable” despite a flu condition

Some of his meetings had to be postponed before his trip to Dubai on Saturday, during which he is due to give a speech at COP28.

The state of health of Pope Francis, who had the flu over the weekend, is “good and stable”, said the Vatican on Monday, November 27. The Holy See specifies that some of his appointments had to be postponed during his convalescence. “He has no fever and his respiratory condition is clearly improving”said Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni in a statement, while the Argentine pope is due to fly to Dubai on Friday to participate in the UN climate conference.

“The x-ray ruled out pneumonia but showed inflammation in the lungs which was causing some difficulty breathing. To increase the effectiveness of the therapy”antibiotic treatment is administered “intravenously“, he said. The audiences with Pope Francis scheduled for Saturday morning had been canceled due to a “mild flu”. And on Sunday, he recited the traditional Angelus prayer from his residence rather than at the window of the apostolic palace overlooking St. Peter’s Square.

François uses a wheelchair

The Argentine pope is due to deliver a highly anticipated speech on Saturday at COP28 in Dubai, in which he is expected to denounce the inaction of the countries concerned and encourage them to drastically reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. In view of this trip, “some important engagements planned for the coming days have been postponed (…) in order to facilitate the pope’s convalescence”while “others, of an institutional nature or easier to support in current health conditions, have been maintained”, indicated Matteo Bruni. Thus, the Pope must receive Paraguayan President Santiago Peña Palacios on Monday.

The fragile health of Pope Francis, which forces him to use a wheelchair, regularly fuels speculation about a renunciation, like his predecessor Benedict XVI. Having colon surgery in 2021, the leader of the 1.3 billion Catholics was hospitalized twice again in 2023, notably for an abdominal operation.