ROME, Italy – Pope Francis, who’s recovering from bronchitis and final week spent three nights in hospital, won’t attend the standard “Way of the Cross” prayer service on Good Friday, the Vatican mentioned.
It would be the first time that Francis, 86, has missed the annual service, which falls two days earlier than Easter — Christianity’s most necessary vacation — within the 10 years of his papacy.
“Due to the intense cold of the past days, Pope Francis will follow this evening’s Way of the Cross from Casa Santa Marta, joining the prayer of those who will gather with the Diocese of Rome at the Colosseum,” the Vatican mentioned in a brief assertion.
Santa Marta is the Argentine pontiff’s residence inside the Vatican.
An uncommon chilly streak in Rome has seen night-time temperatures fall to 10 levels Celsius (50 levels Fahrenheit) this week.
Christians commemorate Good Friday because the day Jesus Christ died on the cross.
The Way of the Cross service commemorates the 14 stations of Jesus’ struggling and loss of life, from his condemnation to his burial. The open-air procession, which begins at 1900 GMT, takes place exterior the Coliseum.
Francis was discharged from a Rome hospital on April 1 after a three-night keep for a bronchial an infection. The pontiff has suffered growing well being points in recent times, and it was his second keep in hospital since 2021.
Francis nonetheless plans to preside, nonetheless, over mass on Friday at St Peter’s Basilica. He has participated in numerous occasions since his hospital launch, together with washing the toes of 12 younger prisoners on Holy Thursday.
On Sunday, he’s anticipated to steer Easter mass at St Peter’s Square. — Agence France-Presse
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
