The Vatican announced on Tuesday that Pope Francis had canceled his trip to Dubai for the United Nations climate conference on the advice of doctors because he was still recovering from the flu and pneumonia, the Associated Press and Reuters reported, citing the News. ro.

This is the second time that the Pope’s fragile health has forced him to cancel a trip abroad. In 2022, he was forced to postpone a planned trip to Congo and South Sudan due to knee inflammation, but managed to make the trip earlier this year.

On Sunday, Pope Francis revealed he was suffering from pneumonia but said he still planned to travel to Dubai to address the COP28 climate change conference.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Tuesday that Pope Francis is recovering from the flu and a respiratory infection that forced him to cancel Saturday’s audience. But “the doctors asked the Pope not to make a trip to Dubai, planned for the next few days. Pope Francis accepted the doctors’ request with great regret, so the trip is canceled,” he added.

The pope received intravenous antibiotic treatment, the Vatican said Monday, after a CT scan at a hospital in Rome on Saturday ruled out pneumonia but revealed inflammation in the pope’s lungs that was causing him difficulty breathing.

Pope Francis, who will be 87 years old next month, had an operation to remove part of a lung in his youth.

On Monday, the Vatican announced that the Pope would limit his activities this week to restore his strength. The trip to Dubai was supposed to last three days.

The Pope met on Tuesday with the Spanish bishops who are in the Vatican.