Pope Francis blows inside an amphora containing holy oil as he presides over Chrism Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on Maundy Thursday.
Vatican City, April 2 Celebrating Holy Thursday Mass, Pope Francis admitted to sometimes feeling tired, like all priests.
Pope Francis said the rite shows how Jesus was willing to really get involved in the lives of his disciples, and said all priests must “wear the smell of their sheep” and not close themselves off in their sacristies out of exhaustion or indifference.
“The tiredness of priests. Do you know how often I think about this weariness which all of you experience?” the pontiff asked. “I think about it and I pray about it, often, especially when I am tired myself,” Pope Francis said.
The 78- year- old Argentine pontiff likened the tiredness to “incense which silently rises up to heaven”.
Vatican doctors said on Wednesday that Pope Francis needed to adopt a more “disciplined” regimen and cut back drastically on pasta and pizza.
The pontiff has noticeably gained weight in recent months, with doctors ascribing this to his diet, overwork and a lack of physical exercise.
Pope Francis recently said that because of his advanced age he believed his papacy could be a short one, “four or five years, even two or three”.
The Pope, who only has one fully functioning lung, has praised as courageous his predecessor Benedict XVI’s controversial decision to resign in February 2013.
In a wide- ranging interview to mark his first two years as Pope, Francis suggested that he too might consider resigning if he felt he no longer had the mental or physical strength to do the job.