Pope Francis cancelled his attendance on the Good Friday procession at Rome’s Colosseum on the final minute, in what the Vatican described as an try “to protect his well being” forward of extra Easter week engagements.
Francis’ agenda for the subsequent two days consists of an Easter vigil service on Saturday night, an Easter mass, and the supply of his twice-annual Urbi et Orbi (to the town and world) message and blessing on Sunday morning.
The 87-year-old’s sudden no-show is prone to renew considerations about his declining energy. Francis makes use of a cane or a wheelchair to maneuver round as a result of a knee ailment, and suffers from repeated bouts of bronchitis and influenza.
The Vatican introduced the pope’s absence from the By way of Crucis (Manner of the Cross) procession simply because it was about to begin, saying in a press release he would comply with it remotely from his Vatican residence.
Francis, who had seemed fitter this week after weeks through which he struggled to talk in public and cancelled some conferences, additionally missed the procession final yr, after recovering from a four-day hospital keep for bronchitis.
The By way of Crucis on the Colosseum is a re-enactment of Jesus’ demise by crucifixion, through which contributors take turns holding the cross as they stroll in and across the historical Roman area, stopping to hope and listen to meditations.
Nuns, clergymen, a hermit, charity staff, migrants and disabled folks have been amongst those that took half within the service, held in a monument believed to have been a spot of martyrdom for early Christians.
Francis personally wrote the meditations for this yr, a primary in his 11-year papacy. They included praises for meekness and forgiveness in response to acts of evil, and prayers for persecuted Christians and struggle victims.
The pope, who has referred to as for the Catholic church to turn out to be much less male-dominated, additionally hailed the ladies who helped Jesus whereas he carried the cross, and pleaded for “these [women] who in our personal day are exploited and endure injustice and indignity”.
Earlier on Friday, the pope joined cardinals and bishops for the Ardour of the Lord service in St Peter’s Basilica, which featured chants in Latin recounting occasions from Jesus’ arrest to his burial.
In earlier years, Francis would begin the service by prostrating himself on the ground of the basilica, however his frail state not permits him to take action. As a substitute, he arrived in a wheelchair and prayed silently in entrance of the primary altar.