Pope Francis cancels Saturday morning audiences due to mild flu, Vatican says

Pope Francis has cancelled his audiences scheduled for Saturday morning because he has a slight fever, the Vatican said.

"The Holy Father's audiences scheduled for this morning are cancelled due to a mild flu," it said in a statement.

The pope is due to travel on Friday to Dubai for the COP28 conference on climate change, a global challenge that he has deeply cared about during his papacy.

Pope Francis will turn 87 next month. When asked about his health in a recent interview — after setbacks that included abdominal surgery just a few months ago to repair a hernia and remove intestinal scarring — Francis quipped in reply what has become his standard line — "Still alive, you know."