Lebanon received a letter from the Vatican, officially informing it of the postponement of Pope Francis‘s visit, which was initially planned for June.
Lebanon’s Minister of Tourism, Walid Nassar, announced on Monday that Pope Francis has postponed his trip due to health concerns and that the new date will be announced: “as soon as it is set.”
“Foreign visits and scheduled appointments in his holiness Pope Francis’ program have been postponed for health reasons,” Nassar said, wishing His Holiness a “speedy recovery.”
Although the Vatican did not confirm the visit, Lebanese authorities, mainly Lebanon’s president, Michel Aoun, had announced in April that the pontiff will visit Lebanon in June.
Earlier in February, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, told the diplomats that the Vatican is already “studying the possibility for a visit, perhaps even by the end of the year.”
The postponement of the papal visit comes at a time when political tensions are increasing in Lebanon with the parliamentary elections just a few days ahead.
