Pope Francis has decided at the last minute to skip his homily during Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square
Pope Francis arrives in St. Peter's Square to celebrate the Palm Sunday mass at the Vatican, Sunday, March 24, 2024. ROME — Pope Francis decided at the last minute to skip his homily during Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square, avoiding a strenuous speech at the start of a busy Holy Week that will test his increasingly frail health.
Vatican officials didn't immediately explain why. The Vatican press office later said the homily was replaced by “a moment of silence and prayer.” The Holy Week schedule is challenging for popes even under the best of circumstances. But that is especially true this year for Francis, who has been battling on and off all winter what he and the Vatican have described as a case of the flu, bronchitis or a cold. For the last several weeks he has occasionally asked an aide to read aloud his speeches and catechism lessons to spare him the effort.
At this time last year, he was hospitalized for three days with an acute case of bronchitis, but then rallied to get through Holy Week. He has been hospitalized two other times during his pontificate for abdominal surgery, including one 10-day stay in 2021 to remove a part of his large intestine.
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