Knee problems sideline tennis players, soccer stars, football linemen, and now the Pope.

The Holy See Press Office on Friday said that due to acute knee pain, Pope Francis will no longer be able to make a visit to Florence, which had been scheduled for Sunday, 27 February. He also will not preside at the upcoming Ash Wednesday, 2 March celebrations.

“Due to acute gonalgia, for which his doctor has prescribed a period of more rest for his leg, Pope Francis will not be able to travel to Florence on Sunday, Feb. 27, or preside over Ash Wednesday celebrations on March 2,” the Holy See press office said in a statement on 25 February.

Pope Francis had been scheduled to make a trip to the Tuscan capital on Sunday for the last day of the “Mediterranean, Frontier of Peace” meeting, taking place from February, 23-27,  which gathers Bishops and Mayors of major cities of the Mediterranean.

In a statement, the president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti, highlighted how much the Pope cares for the ongoing meeting. “Since the beginning,” the Cardinal said, “we have shared with [the Pope] this important project towards which he has always expressed words of support and encouragement to continue on the path marked out.”

Cardinal Bassetti assures of the prayers of all and notes that “the Holy Father accompanies us in this process of listening, mutual knowledge, spirituality, fraternity, and peace.” On Sunday, he continued, “we will all be spiritually united; we will pray together for peace, with our thoughts turned toward Ukraine.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is at the center of the preoccupations of chancelleries worldwide. Inevitably, it was also discussed at the “Mediterranean Frontier of Peace” meeting, which has gathered Bishops and Mayors in Florence.  In a note, the Bishops expressed their “preoccupation and grief over the tragic scene in Ukraine, and they renewed their closeness to the country’s Christian communities.

Welcoming Pope Francis’ invitation to live on March 2 a day of fasting and prayer for peace, the Bishops appealed to the conscience of all those with political responsibility to silence the arms. Every conflict brings with it death and destruction, causes suffering to the populations and threatens coexistence among nations. The madness of war must stop! The Bishops of the Mediterranean know this scourge well, hence they ask for peace with one voice.”