King Charles and Queen Camilla’s visit to the Holy See and meeting with Pope Francis on their upcoming state visit to Italy has been postponed as the pontiff continues to recover from double pneumonia
The King and Queen’s state visit to the Holy See to meet with Pope Francis next month has been postponed, Buckingham Palace has announced.
The couple are visting Italy from April 7 and a meeting with the pontiff, who has been suffering ill health, had been on the cards. However, it has now been postponed by mutual agreement so Francis can continue his recovery from double pneuomia. A statement from Buckingham Palace said: “The King and Queen’s State Visit to The Holy See has been postponed by mutual agreement, as medical advice has now suggested that Pope Francis would benefit from an extended period of rest and recuperation.
“Their Majesties send The Pope their best wishes for his convalescence and look forward to visiting him in The Holy See, once he has recovered.” The King and Queen’s tour of Italy is understood to still be going ahead, however there are expected to be some changes to the programme.
Just last week, a palace source said they had shared “our hopes and prayers that Pope Francis’s health will enable the visit to go ahead”. The visit to the Vatican and Ital, exclusively revealed earlier this year by the Mirror, was set to celebrate the papal jubilee and the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Church of England.
On Sunday, the pontiff left Rome’s Gemelli Hospital after a five-week stay. However, he was released after 38 days of treatment under doctors’ orders to observe two months of convalescence during which he should avoid large gatherings. The Pope appeared weak and frail when he greeted the crowd outside the Gemelli hospital before his discharge.
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