Pope Francis cancels Saturday activities because of mild flu: Vatican

Pope Francis holds regular meetings with Vatican officials on Saturdays as well as private audiences.

Pope Francis cancelled his morning audiences on Saturday because of mild flu, the Vatican said in a statement.

Pope Francis leads the holy Mass in St. Peter's Basilica. (Reuters)

The 86-year-old pontiff holds regular meetings with Vatican officials on Saturdays as well as private audiences.

Earlier this month, the Pope skipped reading a prepared speech for a meeting with European rabbis as he was suffering from a cold, but he appeared to be in good health during a meeting with children just hours later.

In June, he had surgery on an abdominal hernia. He spent nine days in hospital and appears to have recovered fully from that operation.

The Pope's next public appearance is scheduled for Sunday, when he is expected to address crowds in his weekly Angelus message in St. Peter's Square.

Francis is also scheduled to attend the COP28 climate conference in Dubai from Dec. 1-3, where he is expected to have nearly an entire day of bilateral meetings with world leaders attending the event. The conference runs from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12.