Pope Francis will not participate in the annual Corpus Domini procession due to a pain in his knee

Of severe pain in the kneePope Francis on Monday canceled his participation in an annual mass and procession scheduled for next weekend.

This is the annual Corpus Domini procession, which is a Catholic holiday celebrated for centuries.

already Francesco canceled several acts this year due to strain on the ligaments in his right knee, making it difficult for him to walk and stand. He has been in a wheelchair for about a month and last week the Vatican announced that it had to cancel his scheduled July 2-7 trip to Africa in order not to jeopardize his recovery.

Francis apologized on Sunday to the governments and faithful of the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, saying he was angry that he had to postpone his visit and that the trip would have been very important for him.

“I apologize to you,” he said, asking for prayers “so that with God’s help and medical care I can come to you as soon as possible.”

The Vatican did not exactly detail Francisco’s problem or treatmentbut the pontiff commented that he received injections and his friends say he does physiotherapy every day.