Pope Francis has postponed his visit to Lebanon, which was originally scheduled for June, for health reasons. So said the Lebanese Minister of Tourism Walid Nassar.
Nassar said in a statement issued by the National News Agency, “Lebanon has received a letter from the Vatican officially informing it of the decision to postpone the Pope’s planned visit to Lebanon.”
“Foreign visits have been postponed for health reasons,” he added. The 85-year-old pope who suffers from a knee was last week for the first time in a wheelchair He was seen at a public event.
The pope also suffers from hip pain that makes him limp and underwent a delicate intestinal surgery in July 2021.
The Pope’s visit to Lebanon will be the third by the pope since the end of the civil war in 1990.
Lebanon, home to one of the largest Christian communities in the Middle East, has experienced an unprecedented economic and social crisis since 2019, with more than 80 percent of the population now living below the poverty line set by the United Nations.
In recent months, Francis has sent letters of support to Lebanon and has stated on several occasions that he intends to visit.
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