Pope Francis will miss Good Friday procession in Rome due to cold weather – National | 24CA News
Recently hospitalized Pope Francis gained’t go to the Colosseum for the normal Good Friday Way of the Cross procession, however as a substitute will watch it from his house on the Vatican attributable to unseasonably chilly nighttime temperatures in Rome, the Holy See mentioned.
Francis went forward with an early night prayer service at St. Peter’s Basilica to mark Good Friday, which remembers the dying of Jesus by crucifixion. Wearing crimson-colored vestments, Francis, who has a continual knee downside, used a wheelchair to succeed in the central space of the basilica, the place he presided over the service.
The 86-year-old pope was discharged from a Rome hospital on April 1 after spending three days there receiving antibiotic therapy of bronchitis. The Vatican mentioned on the time that he would perform the entire Holy Week schedule, together with the Way of the Cross procession and Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday.
On Holy Thursday, he presided over a virtually two-hour-long Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica and later went to a Rome juvenile jail the place he washed and dried the ft of a dozen residents in a ritual symbolizing humility and recalling Jesus performing the identical gesture for his 12 apostles.
While Rome has recently skilled spring-like climate through the day to Rome, temperatures have dipped into the excessive 30s Fahrenheit (about 4 levels Celsius) after darkish.
“Due to the intense cold of these days, Pope Francis will follow the Way of the Cross this evening from (the) Santa Marta hotel, uniting in prayer with those who will gather with the Diocese of Rome at the Colosseum,” the Vatican mentioned in a quick assertion.
The procession often attracts tens of hundreds of pilgrims, vacationers and Rome residents. Faithful take turns carrying a light-weight cross as meditations and prayers are recited. The pontiff often watches the procession from an increase overlooking the Colosseum, and ends the occasion with remarks and a blessing.
Francis can also be scheduled to preside at an Easter Vigil Mass on Saturday night time within the basilica. On Sunday, he is because of be in St. Peter’s Square for a mid-morning Mass. He is anticipated to ship an extended speech that opinions wars and different conflicts on the planet, identified by its Latin title, “Urbi et Orbi.”
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