Pope forced to skip his traditional Palm Sunday homily
POPE FRANCIS decided at the last minute to skip his homily during Palm Sunday Mass in St Peter’s Square, avoiding a speech at the start of a Holy Week that will test his increasingly frail health.
Hobbled by bad knees and persistent respiratory problems, Francis also didn’t participate in the procession of cardinals around the obelisk in the piazza at the start of the Mass.
Instead, the 87-year-old pontiff blessed the palm fronds and olive branches, carried by the faithful, from the altar.
Francis had been expected to deliver a homily halfway through the service and a prepared text had been distributed to journalists. But when an aide presented him with his reading glasses, the Pope made clear he wouldn’t deliver the homily, leaving the crowd waiting in silence. The Vatican press office said the homily was replaced by ‘a moment of silence and prayer’.
Francis appealed for peace at the end of the Mass. He said he was praying for the families of those killed in what he called an ‘inhuman’ attack at a Moscow concert hall – which has killed at least 137 people – and also asked for prayers for ‘the martyred Ukraine’ and people of Gaza.
The Holy Week schedule is challenging for popes even under the best of circumstances. But Francis has been battling – on and off all winter – what he and the Vatican called the flu, bronchitis or a cold. For the past several weeks he has occasionally asked an aide to read aloud his speeches and catechism lessons to spare him the effort.
Yesterday, no substitute was called in, and the homily was skipped. Vatican officials said the prepared text was to be considered as never having existed.
Usually, the Pope doesn’t deliver a homily at Easter, but he traditionally offers reflections on Palm Sunday.