As he does every year, Pope Francis will take a summer break for the entire month of July, announced the Prefecture of the Papal Household on June 27, 2023. His audiences will resume in August, after his return from World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal.
The note from the Prefecture indicates that the 86-year-old Pontiff’s “general, particular and special” audiences will be suspended from July 1 until the end of the month. The general audience on Wednesday, June 28, is therefore the last before the Pope’s break.
Throughout the summer, however, the Bishop of Rome will continue to recite the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square at midday on Sundays, as he usually does. He may also continue to receive guests in private.
From August 2 to 6, Pope Francis will be in Portugal for World Youth Day in Lisbon. General audiences will then resume the following Wednesday on August 9.
Pope Francis’ health
In recent weeks, the Argentine Pontiff’s schedule has been disrupted by his health issues. He had surgery for an intestinal hernia on June 7. To facilitate his recovery, the general audiences on June 14 and 21 were canceled and he did not pray the Angelus in public on June 11.
On June 29, the Pope is due to celebrate Mass for the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, at 9:30 a.m. in St. Peter’s Basilica. He will also be presenting the palliums to the metropolitan archbishops that have been appointed during the year. On the same day he will celebrate the Angelus prayer at noon in St. Peter’s Square.
In an interview with Vatican News on June 16, the Pope’s surgeon, Sergio Alfieri, said that Francis would have to take care to respect the healing process for a month in order to resume all his commitments in the best possible way. The doctor had said he felt that the Argentinian Pope’s trip to Lisbon in early August for World Youth Day was not in jeopardy. “The Pope will now be able to do everything, stronger and better than before,” he had explained on the day of the Pope’s release from hospital.
