Pope Francis cancels Cop28 visit to Dubai

Doctors instructed pontiff to cancel trip, says Vatican

Live updates: Follow the latest news on Cop28

Pope Francis will not attend the Cop28 summit in Dubai because of ill health, the Vatican says.

“Although the general clinical picture of the Holy Father in relation to the state of influenza and inflammation of the respiratory tract has improved, the doctors have asked the Pope not to make the trip planned for the next few days to Dubai,” the Vatican statement said.

Pope Francis accepted the doctor’s advice “with much regret", it said.

The Pope, 86, was due to begin a three-day visit to Dubai on Friday.

He has travelled less in recent years because of health concerns.

The Pope was due to arrive in the UAE on Friday evening and receive an official welcome before meetings with various heads of state on Saturday.

On Sunday, he was due to attend the inauguration ceremony of the Cop28 Faith Pavilion.

The Vatican is looking at ways for the Pope to remain involved in the summit, according to the statement released by Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See's press office.

10 years of Pope Francis - in pictures

It is 10 years since Pope Francis became head of the Roman Catholic Church. The National looks back at that decade. Getty Images

Pope Francis attends the funeral mass for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in January 2023 at St Peter's square in Vatican City. Getty Images

Pope Francis leads mass with the new cardinals in August 2022 at Vatican City. Getty Images

Pope Francis in March 2021 conducts mass at the Franso Hariri Stadium in Erbil, Iraq. Getty Images

Pope Francis arrives at the Franso Hariri Stadium in Erbil, Iraq, March 2021. Getty Images

St Peter's Square stands empty while Pope Francis celebrates the Easter Mass in an empty St Peter's Basilica during the coronavirus pandemic in April 2020. Getty Images

Pope Francis drives around Tokyo Dome before conducting mass during a visit to Japan in November 2019. Getty Images

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, who was Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces at the time, with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai and Pope Francis at the Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi, in February 2019. Photo: Ministry of Presidential Affairs

Pope Francis celebrates mass at Zayed Sport City, Abu Dhabi, in February 2019. Getty Images

Pope Francis attends the festival of families at Croke Park in August 2018 in Dublin, Ireland. Getty Images

Pope Francis during the Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum in March 2018 in Rome. Getty Images

The Pope at a public engagement in November 2017 in Yangon, Myanmar. Getty Images

Pope Francis at the Celebration of the Lord's Passion at St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, April 14, 2017. Getty Images

Pope Francis at Easter Mass at St Peter's Square, Vatican City, April 2017. Getty Images

Pope Francis with Prince Charles, Prince of Wales during the British royal's visit to the Vatican in April 2017. Getty Images

Pope Francis meets migrants at the Moria detention centre in Lesbos, Greece, April 2016. Getty Images

Father Paschal Mwijage of the St Joseph the Worker Parish in Nairobi's Kangemi slum wears a T-shirt featuring Pope Francis in Kenya in November 2015. Getty Images

Pope Francis after conducting mass at Tacloban Airport in the Philippines, January 2015. Getty Images

Pope Francis greets Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at St Peter's Basilica in September 2014. Getty Images

Pope Francis meets football legend Diego Maradona during an audience in Rome in September 2014. Getty Images

Pope Francis prays by the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Israel, May 2014. Getty Images

Pope Francis welcomes Britain's Queen Elizabeth II for a private audience in Rome, April 2014. Getty Images

Pope Francis during his weekly audience in St Peter's Square, the Vatican, in March 2014. Getty Images

Pope Francis during the Inauguration Mass for the Pope in St Peter's Square in March 2013. Getty Images

Women read a special edition of L'Osservatore Romano newspaper, which carries a photograph of the newly elected Pope Francis, March 2013. Getty Images

Pope Francis on the central balcony of St Peter's Basilica in March 2013. Getty Images

Mr Bruni on Tuesday said his meetings with world leaders would be "relatively brief" and focus on climate change, which is close to the pontiff's heart.

Pope Francis had previously visited the UAE in 2019 where he signed the Document on Human Fraternity, along with Dr Ahmed Al Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al Azhar.

This year, the pontiff said the document was a road map for peace.

“The greatness of any country is not measured solely by its wealth but by its substantial role in spreading the values of peace, brotherhood, coexistence, and defending them,” Pope Francis told Al Ittihad newspaper in June.

His landmark visit to the UAE in 2019, meanwhile, was the first time a pontiff visited the country.

He led a huge open-air Mass at Zayed Sports City in the capital, which was attended by more than 100,000 people.