Saying Pope Francis had “a mild flu-like condition,” the Vatican press office announced he had canceled his scheduled audiences Sept. 23.

While offering an overall favorable judgment on the Marian apparitions and devotions associated with the Medjugorje phenomenon in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Vatican nevertheless said in a new document released Thursday that some issues still need to be clarified.

Recognizing the spiritual value of devotions connected to Medjugorje, but not ruling on the authenticity of the alleged apparitions or alleged messages from Mary, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith also noted that church officials have issued a “series of divergent opinions” about the phenomenon over the past four decades.

Throughout 2024, Franciscans around the world commemorate the 800th anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi receiving the stigmata on Sept. 17, 1224, the appearance of the bodily wounds of Christ’s crucifixion.

While Pope Francis was out of town in Asia and Oceania, a mini-tempest erupted in Rome after a French court appeared to assert that France, not Italy or the Vatican, actually owns the Church of the Trinità dei Monti in the city’s famed Piazza di Spagna and the famed 135-step adjoining staircase, referred to in Italian as the Scalinata but better known in English as the Spanish Steps.

Before leaving Singapore, the most religiously diverse country on his trip to Asia and the Pacific, Pope Francis urged young people to approach others with courage and friendship.

The true significance of Singapore’s soaring skyscrapers, robust economy and high-tech achievements must be found in the stories of love and care that are behind them, Pope Francis said.

Arriving in Singapore from Timor-Leste, Pope Francis made the biggest transition of his 12-day trip to Asia and the Pacific, moving from one of the world’s poorest countries to one of its wealthiest and from one of the most youthful to one of the oldest.

As Pope Francis visits the most Catholic country in Asia in terms of percentage, local pastors and religious have said his decision to come to one of the world’s peripheries is appreciated and can help boost the local church and encourage young people to stay on the right path.