Pope Francis canceled his participation in the Via Crucis procession after presiding over the Good Friday service at St. Peter’s Basilica

Pope Francis canceled his participation in the “Via Crucis” procession from the Colosseum in Rome, Friday, at the last moment, after presiding over the Good Friday service in St. Peter’s Basilica, reports AFP, taken by Agerpres.

Pope Francis, aged 87, canceled his participation in the “Via Crucis” procession at the Colosseum in Rome on Friday at the last minute, amid persistent concerns about his health.

“In order to preserve his health in view of tomorrow’s vigil and the service on Easter Sunday, Pope Francis will watch the Via Crucis from the Colosseum from the Residence of Saint Martha this evening,” the Vatican announced in a press release .

At the moment of the announcement, which came just a few seconds before the start of the ceremony, the organizers withdrew the chair prepared for the Holy Father.

The Argentine Jesuit had also canceled his participation in 2023 for health reasons, a few days after a three-day hospitalization for bronchitis, but this decision had been communicated in advance, unlike this time.

In front of the spectacular setting of the illuminated Roman amphitheater, thousands of believers from several countries, often with candles in hand, gathered in silence to witness this culminating moment of Holy Week, which precedes the celebration of Easter.

Easter will be celebrated on Sunday, the most important and festive date in the Church’s liturgical calendar, marking, according to Christian tradition, the resurrection of Jesus.

Pope Francis will preside over the Easter Vigil on Saturday, and on Sunday he will officiate the Easter liturgy and read the traditional message and blessing “Urbi et Orbi” from the central balcony of Saint Peter’s Square.

The sovereign pontiff, who has been dealing with mobility and respiratory problems, appeared in good shape this week and arrived at St Peter’s Basilica in a wheelchair to join cardinals and bishops at the service commemorating the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday .

In previous years, Pope Francis prostrated himself on the marble floor of the basilica, but his physical condition no longer allows him to do this gesture. Instead, he prayed silently from his wheelchair in front of the altar.

The service of the Lord’s Passion includes the recitation of psalms in Latin that recall the events from the arrest of Jesus to his burial and is one of the few services during which the pope does not read a sermon, which is delivered by the preacher of the pontifical house.

On Friday evening, Pope Francis presides over the “Via Crucis” procession at the Colosseum, during which participants walk around the ancient Roman arena carrying a cross and reenacting the last hours of Jesus’ life. During the procession, participants stop to pray and listen to meditations.

Pope Francis personally wrote this year’s meditations, a first in his 11 years of pontificate. They include prayers for humility and forgiveness in response to acts of evil, as well as prayers for persecuted Christians and victims of war.

Pope Francis, who campaigned for the Church to become less male-dominated, praised the women who helped Jesus as he carried his cross and pleaded for “those (women) who nowadays are exploited and endure injustices and humiliations”.

In a new gesture that emphasizes women, Pope Francis on Thursday performed the ritual washing of feet, which recalls Jesus’ gesture of humility to his apostles at the Last Supper, in a women’s prison in Rome.

Publisher: MI

Download the Digi24 app and find out the most important news of the day