Pope Francis cancels meetings due to mild flu, Vatican says

VATICAN CITY — 

Pope Francis canceled his scheduled appointments for Monday owed to a mild flu, the Vatican said successful a statement.

The Vatican said the 87-year-old pontiff made the determination arsenic a precautionary measurement successful presumption of his planned four-day travel to Luxembourg and Belgium aboriginal this week. It gave nary further details.

Francis is scheduled to statesman the trip, his 46th overseas sojourn arsenic pope, connected Thursday. It comes little than 2 weeks aft helium returned from a demanding 12-day, four-country circuit of Southeast Asia and Oceania.

Francis present regularly uses a wheelchair owed to genu and backmost pain. He has besides suffered bouts of sick wellness successful caller years. Earlier this year, helium canceled respective appointments implicit what the Vatican variously described arsenic a cold, bronchitis and influenza.

The pope appeared successful bully signifier passim his Sept. 2-13 travel to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore. He maintained a packed schedule, headlining much than 40 events, and clocked up a full of astir 33,000 km.

His travel to Luxembourg and Belgium is expected to item the needs of migrants successful Europe and to see a gathering with survivors of maltreatment by Catholic clergy.

Francis' docket successful Luxembourg and Belgium volition beryllium lighter than that of the Southeast Asia and Oceania trip, with the pope scheduled to instrumentality portion successful astir a twelve events implicit 4 days.