Pope Francis skipped the traditional Good Friday procession at Rome's Colosseum to protect his health, the Vatican said, adding to concerns about his frail condition during a particularly busy liturgical period. Francis had been expected to preside over the Way of the Cross, which reenacts Christ's Passion and crucifixion, and composed the meditations that are read aloud at each station. But just as the event was about to begin, the Vatican announced that Francis was following the event from home. "To conserve his health in view of the vigil tomorrow and Mass on Easter Sunday, Pope Francis will follow the Via Crucis at the Colosseum this evening from the Casa Santa Marta," a press office statement said.
It was the first time he had skipped the traditional, evocative event in his 11-year papacy, and recalled the Good Friday that St. John Paul II famously watched from the Apostolic Palace just before he died in 2005. The 87-year-old Francis, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, has been battling what he and the Vatican have described as a case of the flu, bronchitis, or a cold all winter. He has occasionally asked an aide to read aloud his speeches and skipped his Palm Sunday homily altogether.
The decision to not attend the Good Friday procession appeared to be very last-minute, per the AP: Francis' chair was in place on the platform where he was to preside over the rite. His closest aide, Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza, was on hand and moved the television screen around on the platform so Francis would have a better view of what was going on inside the Colosseum itself. But at 9:10pm, five minutes before the official start of the procession, the press office announced on Telegram that he wouldn't show up. The chair was quickly taken away.
(More
Pope Francis stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
